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Ibo Women of Nigeria
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Table of Contents
Women in Transition....................................................................................................1
The Effects of Colonization..................................................................................1
Second−Class Citizens..........................................................................................2
Economic Restrictions, Financial Hardships........................................................2
The Ibo Society..............................................................................................................4
A Flourishing Rain Forest....................................................................................4
The Climate..........................................................................................................4
Clothing and Physical Appearance.......................................................................5
The Ibo Language.................................................................................................6
Village Life...........................................................................................................7
Extended Family Compounds...............................................................................7
Individual Dwellings............................................................................................8
Collective Responsibility......................................................................................9
Native Food........................................................................................................10
Religion...............................................................................................................11
Belief in Many Gods...........................................................................................12
Umuagbara..........................................................................................................12
Ndi Ichie and Chi................................................................................................13
Reincarnation......................................................................................................14
Priests and Priestesses.........................................................................................14
Diviners...............................................................................................................14
Ibo Proverbs........................................................................................................15
In Human Terms.................................................................................................15
The Ibo Worldview.............................................................................................16
Women of Power.........................................................................................................18
The Women's Political Organization..................................................................18
The Women's Council.........................................................................................19
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Table of Contents
Women of Power
The Leader of the Women..................................................................................19
The Women Advisers.........................................................................................20
Spiritual and Protective Leaders.........................................................................20
Before the Cock Crowed....................................................................................21
"A Case Forbids No One"...................................................................................22
Ritual Sanctions..................................................................................................22
Sitting on a Man..................................................................................................23
The Women's Associations.................................................................................24
Titled Women.....................................................................................................24
Daughters of the Lineage....................................................................................25
Wives of the Lineage..........................................................................................26
Unmarried Daughters of the Lineage.................................................................26
Separate but Equal..............................................................................................27
The Mother of the Community...........................................................................27
Women's Work............................................................................................................29
Fishing................................................................................................................30
Farming...............................................................................................................30
Crafts...................................................................................................................32
Markets...............................................................................................................33
Market Days........................................................................................................34
Buying and Selling of Products..........................................................................35
A Subsistence Economy Based on Sexual Division of Labor............................36
A Vital Economy................................................................................................37
Marriage......................................................................................................................39
Restrictions and Requirements...........................................................................39
The Parents' Decision.........................................................................................40
ii
Table of Contents
Marriage
The Marriage Process.........................................................................................41
Visiting the Family.............................................................................................42
Preparing for the Marriage Ceremony................................................................43
The Marriage Ceremony.....................................................................................44
Escorting the Bride Home..................................................................................44
Polygamy............................................................................................................46
The Functions of Polygamy................................................................................47
Woman−Marriages.............................................................................................48
Divorce...............................................................................................................49
Widowhood.........................................................................................................49
Why Hawks Eat Chicken....................................................................................50
A Happy Occasion..............................................................................................51
An Honorable Position.......................................................................................52
Motherhood.................................................................................................................53
Twins and Others................................................................................................53
Pregnancy...........................................................................................................54
The Birth of a Child............................................................................................54
A Grand Village Event.......................................................................................55
Pampering the New Mother................................................................................56
The New Arrival.................................................................................................57
The Naming Ceremony.......................................................................................57
Naming the Child................................................................................................58
The Queen of Mothers........................................................................................59
Mother as Sanctuary...........................................................................................59
Nothing Like It...................................................................................................61
Naming Ceremonies...........................................................................................61
iii
Table of Contents
Colonization.................................................................................................................64
The British Discovery of Iboland.......................................................................64
Economic Colonization......................................................................................65
The Impact of Slavery........................................................................................65
The Trading Companies.....................................................................................67
Religious and Cultural Colonization..................................................................68
Missionary Influence and the Mission Schools..................................................69
Gender−Biased Education..................................................................................70
Political Colonization.........................................................................................71
The Pacification of Iboland................................................................................72
The Division of Iboland......................................................................................72
The Ibo Women's War........................................................................................74
The British Response..........................................................................................74
The Social Cost of War.......................................................................................75
Hunger for Education.........................................................................................76
Political Disenfranchisement of Ibo Women......................................................77
The Modern Ibo Woman............................................................................................79
Political Changes................................................................................................79
Economic Changes.............................................................................................80
City Life..............................................................................................................81
The Family..........................................................................................................82
Divorce and Widowhood....................................................................................83
A Revival of Traditional Ibo Values..................................................................84
A House Divided................................................................................................85
The Disintegration of Ibo Extended Family Life...............................................86
iv
Table of Contents
The Future...................................................................................................................88
The Road Not Taken...........................................................................................89
For Further Reading............................................................................................90
v
Women in Transition
The history of women in the Ibo society of Nigeria contains two conflicting images.
One is of the vibrant, fearless precolonial woman who knew herself and her worth and
often claimed equality with men in the community; the other is of the subordinate,
confused, but still active, modern woman struggling to define herself in an
ever−changing world. Both oral and written accounts by natives as well as nonnatives
who visited precolonial Ibo society describe Ibo women as strong,
independent−minded people who took full part in the economic, religious, and
political lives of their communities. "They have intense vigor and vitality for life,"
writes Sylvia Leith−Ross, one of the earliest visitors to Iboland. "The women are
hard−headed and move fearlessly through the complexities of life." Lord Frederick
Lugard, one of Britain's colonial administrators in Nigeria, describes precolonial Ibo
women as "ambitious, courageous, self−reliant, hard−working, and independent.
[They] claim full equality with the opposite sex, and would seem indeed to be the
dominant partner."
The Effects of Colonization
But the lives of Ibo women changed irrevocably when the British invaded and settled
Iboland from the beginning of the sixteenth to the mid−twentieth century. "Iboland
underwent fundamental transformations in all areas of life under the British control,"
states Ibo historian Felix K. Ekechi. "Colonization changed the democratic nature of
the economic, religious, social, and political institutions in Iboland. It enforced
policies that diminished the roles and status of Ibo women, making them second class
citizens." Contemporary Ibo women simply describe their lives as "lives in transition,"
existing somewhere at the crossroads between traditional and newly acquired values.
As such, their lives are defined by conflict, confusion, and struggle, as they attempt to
find for themselves a comfortable place in society.
Women in Transition 1
Second−Class Citizens
It is true that in comparison to the lives of women in the other major ethnic groups in
Nigeria (the Yorubas and the Hausas), modern Ibo women enjoy considerable freedom
of thought and of action. For example, Ibo women have always had the right to vote.
Both boys and girls have equal access to elementary and secondary education. And
almost every girl whose parents can afford it is encouraged to study beyond the high
school level.
But freedom to work and vote and access to education do not mean women are equal
to men. Jack Harris, an anthropologist, reports that during his field research in Iboland
he was repeatedly told by Ibo men "that women are subsidiary to men, that they are
practically chattels [slaves], and have no power other than that allowed them by men."
Harris reported his research in 1940, but his findings for the most part hold true, as
contemporary Ibo women are denied access to political leadership positions.
Currently, they hold less than 1 percent of political offices in Iboland. Even though
women have access to higher education, they are proportionally segregated based on
gender in terms of what subjects they study, as opposed to men. Women are somehow
pressured into studying and training for the socalled women occupations, such as
nursing, secretarial work, and primary school teaching. "Far fewer women train for the
professions," says Carolyne Dennis, a schoolteacher who has taught in Nigeria for
seventeen years. "University statistics show that many women choose to study
language arts while men focus on engineering and other science or mathematical
science courses."
Economic Restrictions, Financial Hardships
The story is the same in the economic arena. Though Ibo women are expected to work
outside the home and contribute financially to the well−being of the family, they are
denied access to many economic opportunities. More and more women find
themselves economically marginalized and unable to meet their financial domestic
Second−Class Citizens 2
duties. Grants for agriculture still go to menthe government chooses to fund large cash
crop farmers and ignore the women who mainly grow food crops. Also, an Ibo woman
cannot buy or sell land or property without a male representative. "To buy land," states
Harris, "a woman needs a male proxy [representative], either her husband or a close
male relative. This man retains the title to the land, even though in practice the land is
owned by the woman."
Many Ibo women find these restrictions and conflicts annoying and unfair. Some
women's organizations are currently working to reinstate what they call "women's
positions of lost authority." They believe that reclaiming the past and reinstating
traditional rituals and customs, which gave power and status to women in society, will
restore balance and bring stability and fulfillment to the lives of present−day Ibo
women.
I Could Have Been a Math Teacher!
In an interview with the author, Uchenna Adigha, a twenty−nine−year−old Ibo
woman who teaches at a high school in Iboland, tells the story of how she became a
literature rather than math or science teacher.
"In secondary school I was good in math and very good in the sciences. But somehow,
I got the message that I was not supposed to be good in these subjects. Women and
girls are supposed to excel in literature and language arts, not in math or the sciences.
So I convinced myself that I did not have to be good in math and the sciences. I
focused my studies on literature and language. And that's how I became a literature
teacher instead of a math or biology teacher. Or perhaps a scientist."
Second−Class Citizens 3
The Ibo Society
The Ibos or Igbos (pronounced "Ee−bohs" or "Eeg−bohs") constitute one of the three
major ethnic groups in Nigeria. The others are the Yorubas to the west and the Hausas
to the north. The Ibos' ancestral homeland lies in southeastern Nigeria, between the
Niger and Cross Rivers. Geographically, it measures about 40,922 square kilometers,
with a population estimated at 16 million people.
A Flourishing Rain Forest
Although deforestation, massive erosions, and landslides have changed its current
topography, traditional Iboland (from approximately third century B. C. to late
nineteenth century) was a flourishing tropical rain forest. "It was considered the belt of
the equatorial rainforest," writes Derry Yakubu, a Nigerian anthropologist. The land
was so thickly forested that its earliest European visitors referred to it as "the interior,"
or "the hinterland." One British traveler at the beginning of the twentieth century
noted that "the forest reigned supreme in Iboland. It formed the background of every
scene. Homes and gardens and farm and livestock must learn to live and flourish
beneath its shade." Palm trees were plentiful, especially in the deep and narrow
valleys.
But the general impression was that of magnificent forest trees rising out
of a light undergrowth of brush and saplings, with all the varied greens,
straight clean tree−trunks and noble branchings.
The Climate
Embedded in the tropical rain forest, traditional Iboland had a very warm climate with
two major seasons: wet (Udu mmiri) and dry (Uguru) . The wet months lasted from
February to September. The climate was hot and humid during this period. And the air
The Ibo Society 4
was often muggy from the frequent heavy rainfall. The average annual rainfall was
estimated at 105 inches. The dry season, also called the harmattan, began in October
and ended in January. The weather was chilly in the morning, but the temperature
could rise to 80 degrees Fahrenheit by midafternoon. Occasional rain fell during the
dry season, but the period was usually dusty and extremely windy. Farmers organized
their planting calendar around the seasons. They planted their crops during the rainy
season, and harvested and stored their produce during the last months of the rainy
season and the early part of the dry season, from September to November. According
to G. T. Basden,
Between seasons was considered leisure time. People did craft work,
caught up on repairs around the house, and generally rested from all the
hard work they had done during the planting or harvesting of crops.
Clothing and Physical Appearance
Living in the intense heat of the tropical climate required that the Ibos wear relatively
loose clothing. Boys and girls wore little or no clothes until they reached puberty. The
traditional attire for adult men consisted of a loose cotton shirt over an ankle−length
wrapper or loincloth. Men always carried a machete, a long, very sharp blade, used to
clear forest paths and to defend themselves and their families against dangerous
animals living in the forest.
Women's clothing consisted of a blouse and two wrappers of multicolored geometric
or floral design. The first wrapper was draped around the body from the waist to the
ankle. The second wrapper overlapped the first from the waist to the knees, giving the
wrappers a layered look. The blouse was tucked inside the wrapper. The women wore
head ties or simply plaited their hair with thread and beads. Earrings, necklaces, and
different types of bangles were worn for desired effect. The best way to describe the
Ibo traditional attire, says British anthropologist Sylvia Leith− Ross, is "colorful."
"The Ibos' natural sense of color is excellent. They can take three pieces of crudely
Clothing and Physical Appearance 5
patterned Manchester cloth, glaringly unmatchable, and somehow blend them
harmoniously."
The Ibo Language
The Ibos speak variant but mutually understood dialects of the Ibo language, a part of
the Kwa group of West African languages. It is an extremely tonal language that
depends on pitch, voice inflections, and context for meaning. For example, the word
akwa could mean four different things, depending on context and which syllable is
stressed: "clothes" (ákwá), "bed" (ákwà), "egg" (àkwá), or "to cry" (àkwà). "Even
though its tonality makes the language difficult for non−natives to learn, it is a rich
and musical language," writes Sonia Bleeker, an anthropologist who lived in Iboland
for many years. "The Ibo language is very flowery, full of idiomatic and proverbial
sayings." 11 Thus the Ibos say "Ilulu bu manu eji eri okwu" (Proverbs are oil with
which words are eaten). Any speaker who does not know how to apply idioms,
proverbs, and myths is said to be a novice, or learner, of the language, and any speech
without them is dry; the speaker is said to be eating his words (o na−ata okwu ata).
Proverbs and idiomatic sayings were significant to traditional Ibo society because they
were used to express and transmit community values, beliefs, and attitudes towards
life. T. Uzodinma Nwala, an Ibo professor who studies traditional culture and beliefs,
states that
from such proverbs as "Otu nkpisi aka ruta manu ozoe ibe ya onu" (when
one finger touches oil, it reaches to the rest) and "Nwata kwo aka osoro
ndi okenye rie ihe" (when a child washes his hands, he deserves to eat
with his elders), we garner that traditional Ibo society valued individual
achievement while promoting community spirit.
Individuals were responsible for making their own way in the world. But at the same
time, they were fully aware that their actions affected all members of the community.
The Ibo Language 6
Therefore, one needed to be very careful of one's behavior and decisions.
Village Life
"The Ibos' simultaneous emphasis on individual actions and community living was
possible because of the setup of traditional society," writes anthropologist Simon
Ottenberg. The basic unit of the social, economic, and political life of traditional Ibo
society was the extended family. Precolonial Ibos lived in clusters of independent
villages made up of several patrilineal extended families. The population of each
village is estimated to have ranged from a few hundred people to several thousand.
The villages had no king or single ruler to whom others paid homage. In fact, the
political, social, and religious life of the village was extremely democratic.
Community decisions were made in consultation with every member of the village
through established institutions, such as the council of elders, age groups, the council
of chiefs, women's associations, and secret societies. Reflecting on the sociopolitical
setup of Ibo villages, Henry John, an early visitor to a Niger Ibo village during the
nineteenth century, said that he felt he "was in a free land among a free people. True
liberty existed in Igboland, though its name was not inscribed on any monument."
Extended Family Compounds
Usually at the center of the village was the village square, a small clearing
interspersed with trees, where general meetings and ceremonies were held. Farther
from the square were clusters of compounds, or ezi, where extended patrilineal
families lived. Each was walled with mud or fenced with palm leaves. These
compounds were usually fifty to one hundred yards apart with "stretches of forest or
farmland in between and a network of winding footpaths. It was possible to be in the
heart of a village and not see one vestige of habitation," writes Leith−Ross.
Village Life 7
In a typical compound lived a man and his wife, or wives, unmarried daughters,
unmarried sons, and married sons with their families. A man's other relatives, his
mother, brothers and their families, and divorced daughters and their children, also
lived with him in the compound. "A typical compound, therefore, may have a few
individuals to a few hundreds," notes anthropologist Derry Yakubu.
The structure of the compounds was similar. Each had a circular building at the center,
called the obi. This served as a meeting place, reception room, and as an eating room
during important occasions like festivals or other religious ceremonies. The size and
style of the obi varied between families, but it was usually a low−roofed mud hut with
a carved wood door at its entrance. The obi usually contained two mud couches, a
bamboo bed, and two or three low wooden stools for household use. Close to the obi
was a small miniature housethe shrine of ancestors. This was where the oldest male
member of the family poured libations daily to the spirit of the departed ancestors,
asking for protection and prosperity for the living.
Individual Dwellings
Sons of the family built their individual houses around the obi. If a man had more than
one wife, which was an accepted practice among the Ibos at this time, each wife had a
house built for her and her children near the husband's house. The houses were
rectangular and built of smooth, processed clay bricks. The roofs were made of
overlapped palm leaves intricately woven to withstand rain and sun. Small openings
were cut in the mud walls to serve as windows. Depending on the size and needs of
the family, each house contained two or more rooms.
Like the obi, the inside decorations of the houses were simple. There were mud
couches and low wooden stools for sitting. The beds were made of either mud or
bamboo rods, covered with a goatskin rug or a rush mat. Attached to the houses of the
men was a storage house, or oba, where men stored their yearly harvest of the Ibo
yam. The women's houses had an attached kitchen for cooking and storing food crops
Individual Dwellings 8
other than yam, such as maize and cocoyams. At the back of the compound was a little
building that housed a pit latrine for all family members' use. A bathing place was also
erected slightly behind the houses.
One early European visitor to Iboland noted that "Ibo villages were models of
cleanliness and good building and their farms were kept the same way." Another
visitor said, "As we passed through the village, we were struck with its clean
well−kept houses and roads. The people certainly take a great pride in having their
homes nice." These accounts are true, says Elizabeth Isichei, an Ibo historian. "The
Ibos took pride in maintaining and keeping their dwellings clean."
The yards both inside and outside the compound were swept daily and weeded
regularly. At the edge of the compound were garden plots where vegetables and other
crops were grown. Usually a cluster of palm trees, as well as mango, orange, and other
fruit trees, stood in the compound to provide shade, which people sat under to play
games, do chores, make crafts, or prepare meals.
This shade also provided a good site for the informal teaching and acculturation of Ibo
boys and girls. G. T. Basden, an archbishop in Iboland for thirty−five years, states that
"sitting under the trees, helping parents perform various household tasks, children
learn the rules of behavior and community values." Parents told their children stories
and passed on important family and village histories.
By the time young people arrived at the age of puberty, they have learned
all they can learn from their daily contacts with life, certainly as much as
their own folks were capable of teaching them.
Collective Responsibility
Living together in large extended families made traditional Ibos a close−knit people. It
also created a sense of collective responsibility. "Community spirit is very strong
Collective Responsibility 9
among the Igbo," writes Ibo anthropologist Victor Uchendu. "Almost from the first,
the individual is aware of his dependence on his kin group and his community. He also
realizes the necessity of making his own contribution to the group to which he owes so
much." Consequently, everyone, males, females, and children, had important roles to
play in maintaining the well−being of the family. For example, the oldest male
member of the family served as the spiritual head and the ultimate authority figure.
His role was to maintain law and order in the family, pour libations at the shrine of the
ancestors, and represent the family's interests in the larger village community.
Children were expected to help care for their younger siblings and run errands for
older members of the family. It was also their duty to obtain firewood for cooking and
to fetch water from local streams. Men and women had complementary tasks. "Men
did hard labor, such as clearing the land for farming, cultivating, planting, and
harvesting crops. They did home constructions and repairs," writes Yakubu. The
women helped men in farming, weeding, harvesting, and processing farm products.
They were also responsible for supervising and disciplining the children, making sure
they grew up to be useful citizens. Women performed most of the household work as
well, including housekeeping and preparation of meals. An Ibo man, reminiscing over
life in the communal−based traditional Ibo society, said,
we were all habituated to labor from our earliest years. Everyone
contributed something to the common stock, and as we were
unacquainted with idleness, we had no beggars. Practically no one, except
the very young and very old, were exempt from manual work.
Productivity and hard work were highly esteemed.
Native Food
The Ibos' native diet consisted primarily of pounded yam, cassava, or cocoyam (fufu)
served with seasoned vegetable soup made with sun−dried or smoked fish or meat.
Foodstuff, such as maize, beans, peanuts, plantains, pumpkins, breadfruit, and okra,
Native Food 10
was also eaten for variety. Wild and domestic fruits, such as oranges, mangoes, guava,
and papaw, were abundant, but they were eaten primarily as snacks and did not form
part of the staple diet. Although they raised livestock (chicken, goats, and sheep), the
traditional Ibo preferred dried fish over meat. And "bush meat" (hunted meat) was
considered more tasty than meat from domestic animals.
In most families, meals were prepared together and everybody ate at the same time. In
others, however, each wife was responsible for preparing meals for herself and her
children. The wives then took turns preparing the husband's meal. Before eating, the
father would offer a portion of his meal and drink to the cult of the ancestors. He
thanked them for the meal and for life, and asked for protection from enemies and evil
forces. This gesture of honoring the spirit of the dead by regularly offering them
libations and asking for protection reflects the Ibo people's profound belief in the
power of supernatural forces to affect and determine their life experiences.
Religion
"The Ibos were nothing if not profoundly religious," says Elizabeth Isichei, a scholar
of Ibo culture and society. "All accounts of their life reflect that fact." A German
missionary to Iboland in 1841 commented how the Ibos believed that everything in
their society was governed by gods and ancestors:
To the Ibo the secular and the sacred, the natural and the supernatural, are
a continuum. Supernatural forces continually impinge on life and must be
propitiated by appropriate prayers and sacrifices.
Traditional Ibo attitudes toward the supernatural are understandable, says T. Nwala, if
one recognizes that the Ibos lived constantly with the harsh realities of their natural
environment. They accepted the limitations of human efforts and acknowledged that
there were forces higher than humans that helped determine their fate. "Igbo religious
life," he states, "is an integral element of their total cultural life which aims at
Religion 11
self−realization of some sort that consists in nothing other than living in harmony with
the cosmic order."
Belief in Many Gods
The Ibos, like people in most African societies, were polytheists. They believed in and
worshiped many gods. Their belief system consisted of three hierarchical layers of the
supernatural world. At the head of the hierarchy was the ultimate supernatural being,
known as Chukwu (the Great God), or Chineke (God, the Creator). Underneath
Chukwu were the lesser but powerful gods, Umuagbara. Below the gods were the
spirits of dead ancestors, Ndi Ichie, and the personal gods, Chi.
To the Ibos, the reason for having this hierarchy of the supernatural was quite simple.
The people believed that Chukwu was so powerful and so fearful that ordinary human
beings could not possibly approach him directly with impunity. To approach Chukwu,
one needed the help of the lesser but powerful gods and one's departed ancestors to act
as intermediaries.
Umuagbara
The lesser gods consisted of male and female deities with certain specified areas of
natural control that often overlapped, including the gods of thunder, the river, the
harvest, and so on. These gods were collectively called Agbala, Agbara, Ajala, or
Arusi (the oracle). All the gods were respected, but they were not given equal
importance and power. Generally, every village recognized one deity as the most
powerful depending on the needs and experiences of the community. This deity
became the most influential god to the people and occupied a central position in their
lives and activities. The deity was believed to control harvest yields, fertility, and
lifeareas paramount to the survival of a community. Ala or Ani (the earth goddess),
was the sacred deity in some villages. In others, it was Amadioha (the god of thunder)
or perhaps the river god, if the village was near the coast.
Belief in Many Gods 12
Libations and prayers were offered daily to the gods. And each village set apart certain
periods of the year to feast and make merriment in honor of their gods. "During the
feasts, sacrifices and offerings were made as thanksgiving, petitions for protection,
absolution for sins, and requests for life, health, children, wealth and security," notes
Nwala. Among the great village festivals or feasts in Iboland were the New Yam
Festival (Ifejioku or Iwaji) and the New Year Festival (Igu Aro).
Ndi Ichie and Chi
Beneath the nature gods were the spirits of dead ancestors (Ndi Ichie) and the guardian
or personal gods (Chi). The Ibos worshiped their ancestors. They believed that dead
ancestors helped protect living relations, prevent them from harm, and intercede for
them in times of trouble.
The Chi, or personal god, was believed to be responsible for individual safety and
success. It was common for individuals, especially children, to wear talismans or
charms (Ikenga) as outward symbols of their Chi. No two Chi were alike, and the Ibos
believed that one cannot be greater than one's Chi. The views are expressed in
numerous proverbs, such as "Ebe onye dara obu chi ya kwaturu ya" (Where a person
falls, that is where his or her Chi brings him or her down) and "Chi onye adighi nizu,
onwu adighi egbu ya" (Unless a person's Chi agrees, death does not kill him or her).
It was very unfortunate indeed for an individual to have a lazy or an uncoordinated
Chi. This meant consistent failure and poverty. A person who had a history of
misfortune was spoken of as onye chi ojo (a person with a bad Chi). And when an
individual seemed to exist in a perpetual state of misery and misfortune, he or she was
advised to die and go ask for a better Chi (Nwua ga jugharia).
Ndi Ichie and Chi 13
Reincarnation
"Telling a person to die was not a sign of meanness by the Ibos," explains Nwala. "It
merely indicated a belief in reincarnation and the notion that death was not final." 28
The Ibos saw death as a transient phase into another life. When a person died, the
individual was believed to continue his or her life in the spirit world. As Victor
Uchendu, an Ibo ethnographer, explains, "The world of the dead is a world full of
activities; its inhabitants manifest in their behavior and thought processes that they are
'living.' " Life in the world of the dead, however, was viewed as temporary. The dead
were eventually reincarnated after they had been given the opportunity to determine
their future fate in the world of humans. It was, therefore, of paramount importance
that a balance be maintained between the two cosmic orders (the world of humans and
the world of spirits) for the wellbeing of everyone.
Priests and Priestesses
Maintaining the balance between the worlds of humans and spirits was the duty of
everyone, with the help of the village priests and priestesses. The chief priest or
priestess was in charge of the ceremonies and rituals pertaining to the gods. Priesthood
was considered a special gift from the gods and was usually hereditary. A son or
daughter could inherit the gift from a parent. To traditional Ibos, a priest and a
priestess were equal, and the words of the gods that the priest or priestess presented
were unquestionable and binding.
Diviners
In addition to the priests and priestesses of the gods, there were also male and female
diviners, known to the people as ndi dibia afa. Since the Ibos believed that everything
in lifedeath, sickness, birth, wealth, and the likewas controlled in the supernatural
sphere, the diviners consulted the spirit world for individuals seeking knowledge of
Reincarnation 14
the future, the outcome of a journey, or the right time or need to perform a particular
task.
Similar to the powers of priesthood, divination was believed to be a gift and could be
inherited from a parent or a close relation. A village could have anywhere from three
to ten diviners. People consulted their village diviners as well as diviners in other
villages. It was not unusual for an Ibo man or woman to travel a great distance to
consult a diviner whose fame and gift of divination was well known.
Because of the emphasis on skill and the power of inheritance, women could assume
positions of religious authority in the traditional Ibo community. Female priests were
given the same respect and rights as male priests. The respect for diviners, consulted
equally by men and women, was based on talent, not gender. Thus, women played a
significant role in the leadership of Ibo society.
Ibo Proverbs
Proverbs are a very important feature of the Ibo language and society. They express
the people's view of life and attitude toward things in general. The following proverbs,
cited in T. Uzodinma Nwala's book Igbo Philosophy, are prevalent in daily Ibo
conversations and thoughts.
In Human Terms
Traditional Ibos had strong, intimate ties with one another. Living in large, extended
family compounds assured that a person was always loved, nurtured, and encouraged.
Sonia Bleeker, an anthropologist who studied traditional Ibo ways of life for many
years, describes this essential communal spirit in her book, The Ibo of Biafra.
"At home, in the compound, a person is always surrounded by relatives. He has their
cooperation, their affection, their encouragement, and their teaching and guidance.
Ibo Proverbs 15
The obligations he has towards them make him feel wanted and needed in the happy
community. When he is sick, his relatives come and stay with him till he recovers.
When it is time for him to marry, his relatives contribute to the bridewealth [dowry]
and come with gifts to celebrate his wedding. They fill the compound with gaiety and
good will."
The Ibo Worldview
The Ibos believed that the universe was made up of two worlds: the world of humans
and the world of spirits. The two worlds are related and interdependent. As Victor
Uchendu explains in his book The Igbo of Southeast Nigeria, the two worlds function
on the principle of "beneficial reciprocity."
"The Igbo world is a 'real' one in every respect. There is the world of man peopled by
all created beings and things, both animate and inanimate. The spirit world is the
abode of the creator, the deities, the disembodied and malignant spirits, and the
ancestral spirits. It is the future abode of the living after their death. There is constant
interaction between the world of man and the dead; the visible and invisible forces.
Existence for the Igbo, therefore, is a dual but interrelated phenomenon involving the
interaction between the material and the spiritual, the visible and the invisible, the
good and the bad, the living and the dead."
The Ibo Deities or Nature Gods
The Ibos believed that the natural world was controlled by supernatural forces. T.
Uzodinma Nwala indicates in his book Igbo Philosophy that every aspect of nature
had a god associated with it.
"The nature of the local deities, oracles, and abstract forces and ancestral spirits reflect
the nature of the traditional Igbo society and its environment as well as the ideals
cherished by the various communities. The deities are associated with the natural
The Ibo Worldview 16
environment such as rivers, trees, climate, topography and the natural elements. River
deities are found in the riverine areas, and they answer the names of the local rivers
associated with them. Thus we have Idemili, Imoh, Otankpa, Ulasi, etc. The frequent
electrical storms which endanger life yields belief in the god of ThunderAmadioha or
Kama. Being an agricultural people with much concern for the fertility of the soil,
there is general belief in the Earth deity Ala, and Ahajioku or Ifejioku. Thus, Igbo
traditional physical environment very much determined the nature of the local deities."
The Ibo Worldview 17
Women of Power
Although traditional Ibo society favored men, mainly because the family name and
property were carried on through male descendants, the Ibos still recognized and
valued the contributions women made to the community. They recognized the
differences between men and women and the fact that their needs were often not
identical. As such, they created two different powerful and autonomous political
systems that handled the affairs of men and women separately. Consequently, men had
their own political institutions where they managed and discussed issues affecting
them and women had their own separate and equally powerful political institutions
through which they managed their affairs.
The Women's Political Organization
Kaneme Okonjo, an Ibo who has studied past and present−day Ibo societies and the
role of women in them, states, "We can label such systems of organization 'dual sex'
systems, for within them each sex managed its own affairs and women's interests were
represented at all levels." Having two political institutions that were considered equal
and free ensured that women could organize themselves and carry out their
responsibilities without fear of meddling or opposition from the men. It also meant
that "women achieved status and recognition not by doing 'men's work' as pertains in
the Western world, but by working within their own women's group."
The women's political organization paralleled that of the men. It consisted of the main
Women's Council, also known as the General Assembly, and different levels of
women's associations, known as Otu or Ogbo, which often served as interest groups
for their members. Membership was on the basis of age, marriage, or social status.
Women of Power 18
The Women's Council
The Women's Council was the central governing body for the women. Meetings were
called whenever an issue requiring general or immediate attention arose. It was
mandatory that each lineage or extended family be represented at every meeting. As
such, the women of a lineage usually appointed a delegate to represent them.
The delegates were accompanied by other lineage women who were free and willing
to attend. "The exceptions were pregnant or nursing women because members did not
want the meeting disturbed or interrupted by crying babies or a woman in labor,"
writes researcher Sylvia Leith−Ross. The meetings were held in the village square, an
empty space in the marketplace, or in a member's house, if her compound was large
enough to accommodate everyone. It was a great honor to hold a meeting in one's
home or compound; many wealthy women competed for such an honor, providing
food and refreshments for women attending the meeting. Men were not welcome at
the women's gatherings.
The Leader of the Women
The Women's Council meetings were chaired by the leader of the women. In some
communities, she was called the Omu (the great mother). In others, she was called
Ogene Nyanya, or simply Onye isi umunwanyi (the women's leader). "The women's
leader was often one of the oldest and most respected members of the female
community," says historian Kaneme Okonjo. "The office was attained by merit; it was
not hereditary."
The leader's other duties included performing certain community ceremonies,
disciplining the women of the community, representing the female population in the
larger village meetings, and advising women in times of personal conflict or family
crises. Okonjo explains:
The Women's Council 19
Because of these invaluable responsibilities, the Omu's qualifications
included having good sense and good character, possessing the ability to
speak well, a persuasive personality and some degree of wealth.
These leadership skills were important since she did not rule by issuing commands or
making decrees.
Her authority rested in her ability to reach a consensus with the women of
the community on all issues and on her skills at negotiating with the men
on issues that affected all members of the community.
The Women Advisers
The women's leader ruled the women and represented their interests to the larger
community with the advice and help of a select group of women known as Ilogo, or
Otu Ogene. These women advisers consisted of the most prominent women in the
village women who, like the women's leader, came from prestigious and respected
families. They were also known for having good character and good sense, having
achieved high status and wealth through hard work, and for possessing the ability to
speak well and not be easily intimidated. As one Ibo woman, Ulunwa
Odimba−Nwaru, describes,
The qualifications of both the women's leader and members of her
advisory board show that traditional Ibos rank eloquence, diligence and
good sense as three of the most significant prerequisites to social and
political authority and the good life.
Spiritual and Protective Leaders
Most villages regarded the Omu and members of her cabinet as Ndi amuma (prophets
and seers). According to Ikenna Nzimiro, an Ibo professor of sociology and
The Women Advisers 20
anthropology, "they were said to dream of spirits who come to them warning of
dangers and demanding certain rituals." Consequently, the women performed seasonal
rituals aimed at driving evil away from their villages. They prepared special charms to
ensure the safety and wellbeing of all persons attending the marketplace. The charms
were also meant to ensure market expansion by attracting traders and goods from
other areas and preventing market disorder. "In this way, the Omu and members of her
cabinet served as spiritual and protective leaders of the entire community."
Before the Cock Crowed
Whenever a special meeting was called or a regular meeting was scheduled, it was the
responsibility of the Omu or her representative to call the women together. Very early
in the morning on the day of the meeting, before the cock crowed to signal the
beginning of a new day and all was quiet, the women's leader took her Ogene or ekwe
(gong), and walked through the village. She beat the gong in a special way as she
announced the time and place of the meeting, to which everyone listened carefully.
One Ibo woman explains:
Using the Ogene as a tool for communicating messages was such a part
of the Ibo traditional life that whenever the gong beat, people stopped
whatever they were doing and paid attention. The message preceding the
gong beat could be a matter of life and death for the people. So they
listened.
At the meeting, the women's leader and her advisers would present the topics to be
discussed. These could range from news of a recent threat to the life of the community
to mundane topics such as keeping the markets clean, clearing the paths leading to the
markets, and determining rules of market behavior, prices for commodities, and fines
for those who violated the rules or failed in their responsibilities. Issues relating to
men's village responsibilities were also discussed, such as directing and disciplining
young men, clearing forest paths, and performing necessary repairs to public
Before the Cock Crowed 21
buildings.
"A Case Forbids No One"
Every adult female attending the women's meetings was entitled to speak on any or all
of the issues presented for discussion, as long as she had something to say that the
others considered worth listening to. As the Ibos say, "A case forbids no one." Any
woman was free to completely disagree with others' views or offer a different
perspective on the issues. "Other delegates, however, considered it their responsibility
to shout down, dismiss, or completely ignore somebody whom they deemed a
trouble−maker or 'an idiot,' " states historian Margaret Green. Decisions reached at the
meetings were by majority consensus. And because of the respect given to the council,
resolutions were binding on everyone in the community, male and female alike.
The women delegates had the responsibility of passing on the decisions to the women
who could not attend the meeting and also to the men, if the rules affected them. The
women's leader and her cabinet considered it their duty to make everyone comply with
the rules. "Although men were not allowed to attend or participate in the women's
deliberations, they rarely ever questioned the decisions reached by the women," states
anthropologist Sylvia Leith−Ross. This may be partly due to the fact that they trusted
the integrity of the women. They also knew that the women wished to preserve the
peace of the village because it enabled them to carry on their trading. "The men seem
also to think that the women have a greater sense of abstract justice," says Leith−Ross.
Ritual Sanctions
Failure to comply with the resolutions made by the Women's Council brought the
women's wrath upon the individual. The women used several community−sanctioned
methods, such as strikes, boycotts, or the ritual of "sitting on a man" to force people to
comply. The power and success of these methods of enforcement required absolute
solidarity from all the women. Jack Harris illustrates this through a story about a
"A Case Forbids No One" 22
woman who refused to pay a fine that the Women's Council had imposed.
All the women refused to speak to her, to buy from her, or sell to her in
the market, or to give her live embers for her fire. Within three weeks of
the boycott, the errant woman paid her fine with much pleading and
apologies to the entire women's community.
In another incident in which the Women's Council repeatedly asked the men to order
some of their members to clean an overgrown path to their farms and repair a bridge,
"the men neglected to do this and the women refused to cook food for their husbands
until this order was carried out."
Sitting on a Man
When a man violated the rules of the Women's Council, the women sometimes used
the ritual known as "sitting on a man" to force the individual to comply. Sitting on a
man meant "making his life miserable." This often included destroying his property,
calling him names, and singing songs that questioned his manhood.
The man being "sat on" could defend himself, if he thought he was up to it. He could
ask his relatives to help him defend himself. They could attack the women verbally
and issue threats, but they were forbidden from harming the women physically. If they
tried, the whole community levied severe punishments on the man and his relatives
and could ostracize them from the community. "The authority and immunity given to
the women while'sitting on a man' come from the feeling of respect the Ibos bear their
mothers," states Margaret Green. "One can always hear men dismiss some of the
'outrages' committed by women with the phrase'Obu Umunwanyi nwe anyi' (It is the
women who own us)." Women defended themselves by invoking the power and
sanctity of motherhood and their role as food producers. Collectively, says
anthropologist Jack Harris
Sitting on a Man 23
during strikes, boycotts, or sitting on a man, the women assume the role
of Ibo womanhood and [are], in effect, saying: "It is we women who give
birth to men. It is we women who feed them. How dare you do an
injustice to a woman."
The Women's Associations
Working hand in hand with the Women's Council were the interest groups or women's
associations. Issues affecting only a small section of the female population were not
handled by the General Assembly, except in cases of extreme altercations among the
people involved or when the council felt compelled to intervene for the peace of the
community. Minor or individual problems were handled within several established
women's organizations, each of which played a different vital role in the community.
There were four major groups: Ndi Lolo (titled women), Otu Umuada (daughters of
the lineage), Ndi'nyom (wives of the lineage), and Umuagbogho or Umuegbede (the
young, unmarried daughters of the lineage).
Titled Women
"Title holding or Ichi ozo in Iboland was the highest social status a man or woman
could attain through diligence and hard work," states Professor Ikenna Nzimiro. "Ichi
ozo in effect tells the entire village community that an individual deserves recognition
and respect." Therefore, titles were nontransferable and nonhereditary. One had to
earn it.
There were three major ways women could obtain a title. A village could pull its
resources together and confer a title on a woman in appreciation of the work she had
performed for the community. Children could bestow a title on their mother to show
their appreciation and love. Finally, a prosperous woman, with many descendants,
could register and legitimize her success by taking a title. "Title holding rites of
passage were both rigorous, expensive and arduous," notes historian Elizabeth Isichei.
The Women's Associations 24
The ritual involved, among other things, paying a huge fee to the members of the club
and providing elaborate entertainment and food to all members of the village on the
day of the ceremony. Thus, few women were willing to undertake the task on their
own.
"Women who took titles, either as a result of community or individual effort, were
considered political and social elites," 45 says Nzimiro. They were considered leaders
and given great respect. When they spoke, everybody listened. The women's leader
and members of her cabinet almost always came from this distinguished association.
Women title holders were called Ndi Lolo. To indicate their achievement, they wore a
special red cap and locally made stone anklets and necklaces, and they carried a fan.
"Titled women were recognized anywhere by their appearance," notes one historian.
Daughters of the Lineage
The Otu Umuada represented the most powerful women's group in a lineage,
consisting of all married daughters of the lineage. Even though traditional Ibo society
was patrilocal (all daughters were expected to marry and move to their husband's
community), women still retained rights and responsibilities in their birth
communities. As such, every married Ibo woman had two homesone in her village of
birth, the other in her married community. She visited her birth home regularly
bringing gifts and, sometimes, information from her married home. The Umuada had
special prerogatives by virtue of their dual homes. Explains Nzimiro:
They acted as diplomats between the two communities of relationship, as
ambassadors of good will for their birth communities, and, in times of
crises, as informants against their places of marriage. ... The Umuada's
allegiance were almost always with their fathers' home. Most women
would rather divorce their husbands and return home than betray the
interests of their place of birth.
Daughters of the Lineage 25
Strong allegiance to their places of birth made Umuada "resident outsiders" in their
husband's home. But it gave them great influential authority within their natal homes.
A brother was not permitted to get married without first informing and receiving the
approval of the Umuada. The Umuada were also called upon to settle disputes within
the family, especially those between brothers or between a brother and his wife. Even
though their decisions were nonbinding, few family members dared to go against their
wishes. "The wrath of the Umuada often burned long and deep. It had a way of
making, through sanctions and boycotts, the life of any offender miserable," says
Nzimiro.
Wives of the Lineage
The reciprocal group to the Umuada was the Otu Ndi'nyom, representing the interests
of the wives of the lineage. Ndi'nyom, by virtue of their position as wives, had less
power than the Umuada, but they always maintained their rights and protested to the
Omu (the women's leader) whenever they thought the Umuada were too demanding or
were encroaching upon their rights. The Omu had the power to intervene and maintain
justice and balance between the two groups. Otu Ndi'nyom was also a self−help group.
Members looked out for each other's interests. Collectively, they lent money for
trading, and shared planting crops with women who may be less fortunate. For the
most part, the association helped its members to succeed and lead productive lives.
Unmarried Daughters of the Lineage
The Otu Umuagbogho was the least powerful of the women's groups. It was made up
of unmarried young women from the age of twelve and above. "It was mainly a
socializing institute for teenagers. Group members learned different traditional dances
and rules of social behavior; life−time friendships were also formed," explains
Nzimiro. Politically, they had certain rights and responsibilities and could appeal to
either the Umuada or Ndi'nyom when they thought their interests were not being
represented. When this attempt failed, they appealed to the Omu for redress.
Wives of the Lineage 26
Having these levels of political organization with specified powers, areas of
jurisdiction, and clearly defined appeal processes ensured that the interests of most
women in traditional Ibo society were represented. It also meant that women had the
opportunity, the freedom, and the access to contribute to the well−being of their
society. After studying the character of the Ibo political setup, historian Elizabeth
Isichei concluded that "the Ibo political system may not have been one hundred
percent democratic but it came very close to it."
Separate but Equal
The political setup of traditional Ibo society functioned along gender lines. Men and
women had separate political institutions; women's organizations paralleled those of
the men and were considered as powerful. In her essay "Recovering Igbo Traditions,"
philosopher Nkiru Nzegwu describes how the system worked.
"The political culture of the Igbos could be theoretically described as dual−sex. Under
this structure, women had their own Governing CouncilsIkporo−Onitsha, Nd'inyom to
address their specific concerns and needs as women. The councils protected women's
social and economic interests, and guided the community's development. The
dualsymmetrical structure accorded immense political profile to women.... The
socio−political structure required and depended on the active participation of women
in the community life. Their views were deemed critical, not because they were
women, but because of the special insight they brought to issues by virtue of their
spiritual, market and trading duties and their maternal roles."
The Mother of the Community
In his article "The Political Institutions," Kaneme Okonjo cites an interview he
conducted with a newly installed Omu of Obamkpa, a community that is currently
trying to revive traditional Ibo values.
Separate but Equal 27
"My child [speaking to Okonjo], the Obi is the head of the men, and I am the head of
the women. I and my cabinet represent the women in any important town gatherings
and deliberations. If decisions arrived at are such that the womenfolk are to be told
about them, I get a woman [onye oga] to sound the gong [ekwe] to assemble the
women. On less important occasions, my cabinet members pass the word around
among the women by word of mouth.
If there is drought, we curse whoever caused it. If there is sickness and people are
dying, my cabinet goes naked in the night with live brands to curse whoever brought
it. If there is sickness next door [in a neighboring community], I do something with
my cabinet to insure that sickness does not enter this town. There are medicines we
make at the entrance to the town. These are just a few of my duties. I am the mother of
the people, you know, and I have to insure in any way I can that they enjoy continued
good health and happiness."
A Greater Sense of Abstract Justice
In her book African Women: A Study of the Ibo of Nigeria, Sylvia Leith−Ross, an
anthropologist who lived among the Ibos for several years, asked the men how they
felt about the Women's Council and the decisions they reached at their meetings.
"The men, although not allowed to attend the council meetings, approved of them and
wished the women to keep their power. They trust the integrity of the women in the
matter of bribes more than their own. They also know that the women wish to preserve
the peace of the town as it enables them to carry on their trading, and they seem also
to think that the women have a greater sense of abstract justice. They would not be
biased by personal prejudice and long−standing feuds as much as the men."
Separate but Equal 28
Women's Work
"Ibo women have always worked. They grow up in their villages with selfconfidence
and courage, knowing that they can always support themselves and their children.
Even if a husband is generous and wealthy, his wives are expected to work all the
same," states anthropologist Sonia Bleeker.
Women's work in traditional Ibo society, therefore, meant that in addition to cooking,
housework, and taking care of the children, women were expected to work outside the
home and to make economic contributions to the well−being of their families.
The wife's contribution to the needs of the household was direct and indispensable.
According to G. T. Basden, an Iboland archbishop, "Women who worked hard were
appreciated and a husband showed his appreciation of the wife's services by giving her
a present occasionally, usually in the form of a wrapper [an article of clothing]."
Conversely, a woman who was not considered aggressive in the workplace was
believed to be lazy. She was called Mmiri Oyi (cold water), disrespected, and became
the laughingstock of the village. People used her as an example of what happened to
people who did not work hard.
The economy of traditional Ibo society was predominantly agricultural. The Ibos were
subsistence farmers. Each family grew most of the food it needed to survive.
Consequently, in order to meet their economic responsibilities, most Ibo women
combined farming and trading. "Fieldwork and marketing filled the Ibo women's days
fairly well," says Sylvia Leith− Ross. "Those living on the banks of River Niger or the
Cross River combined farmwork, marketing and fishing." Women also did one form
of craft or another in between the planting and harvesting seasons.
Women's Work 29
Fishing
Since the majority of the Ibos lived inland, where big rivers were absent, most of them
did not fish. Fishing was left solely to those who lived near these rivers. The Ibos
called them ndi mba mmiri (people of the water areas). In these communities, both
men and women fished actively.
The method of fishing varied, depending on the season. During the dry season, from
October to January, the most popular method of fishing consisted of "draining local
streams and ponds until they were only about one−foot deep." Women then used nets
and baskets to gather the trapped fish. At other times of the year, people fished in big
rivers. They used dugout canoes, traveling about two to three miles from land. "Then
they used home made baskets, small throw nets, gill nets, cast nets, and drift nets of
different meshes to trap and catch the fish," explains anthropologist Barry Floyd. An
average catch per canoe per day was estimated at 46.5 pounds, normally consisting of
crabs, prawns, crayfish, catfish, tilapia, sardines, oysters, and bonga.
Since traditional Ibo society had no method of refrigeration, most products were eaten
fresh or dried for preservation. A family usually kept a good portion of their catch for
their needs. The rest were air dried or smoked and then taken to the market and sold to
traders from inland villages.
Farming
For men and women who lived in the coastal areas and those who lived inland,
farming formed a large part of their lives. Everyone held and cultivated land.
However, while everybodymale and femalewas expected to farm, the Ibos made a
distinction between crops men could grow and the ones women could grow. They also
differentiated between the types of farm activities women could and could not
participate in.
Fishing 30
A primary farming duty of the men was planting the Ibo yam (ji), a big fibrous tuber
that sometimes measured two feet long and weighed up to one hundred pounds. The
men were also responsible for "clearing and preparing the farmlands, cutting stakes
and training the yam vines as well as building the yam barns and tying the harvest,"
states Daryll Forde, an ethnographer. "Men also cut the palm fruits, tapped and sold
palm wine and the palm oil which the women prepare." Women processed palm oil
from palm fruits. They weeded and tended the men's farms during the growing season
and also helped to bring the crops home during harvest.
On their own farms, which were often closer to home than those of the men, women
could plant anything but the yam. As Leith− Ross explains, "This in reality meant that
the women were responsible for growing the larger part of the food stuff and for
feeding the family for the greater part of the year when yams grown by the men were
no longer available." Women's crops included cassava, maize, beans, cocoyams,
peanuts, tomatoes, peppers, okra, and other green−leafed vegetables. They also raised
the livestock that provided much of the meat in the Ibo diet.
It is difficult to find a sufficient reason for the division of labor among the Ibos. Some
argue that it indicates the paradox in Ibo village life in which women were given
authority over some things but not over others. However, some scholars argue that the
reason for the division of labor was simple. "The cocoyams and other food stuffs were
easier to grow than the yam and they did not require as much space," says an Ibo
writer. "Consequently, while the cocoyams, maize, peppers, tomatoes, and the cassava
were planted on farms nearer to the homes, yams were often planted in far away larger
and more fertile farms." This made it possible for women to work on the farm and
keep an eye on the home when men traveled to the faraway farms. Having women's
farms nearer to the homes also gave women quick access to their crops. However,
women were required to accompany the men to their farms when the yams needed
weeding and during harvest. Many people were needed to carry the yams home from
the farm.
Fishing 31
Crafts
Usually after harvesting and storing the farm crops, the Ibos spent the nonplanting
season, from November to February, making crafts. "Pre−colonial Ibo society
achieved highly developed handicrafts in weaving, potterymaking, smithing, wood
carving etc.," writes Uzodinma Nwala, an Ibo philosopher and historian.
Metalworking and wood carving were men's work. The men made outstanding forms
of masks, statuettes, stools, chip−carved doors and panels, as well as different types of
brass and copper anklets and bracelets. The masks and chip carvings had geometrical
designs composed of hatching, cross−hatching, lozenges, circles, and quatrefoils.
Some of the designs had personal meanings, but most expressed elements of
spirituality and the people's conception of life, such as the relationship between
humans and their environment and between humans and the gods.
Women concentrated mainly on making pottery and weaving cloth, mats, and baskets.
Their work, however, was as outstanding and as skillful as the men's. Ibo women
excelled in weaving, notes an Ibo historian. "When our women were not employed
with the men in tillage, their usual occupation was spinning and weaving cotton,
which they afterwards dyed and made into excellent garments," 60 he writes. The
cloth woven by the women was elaborately patterned and colorful. Referring
specifically to the cloth made by the Akwette Ibo community, a visitor to Iboland
says, "The southern Ibo town of Akwette made textiles so superb that imported cloth
could not rival them." The textiles were initially made from bark fiber. Later, probably
by mid−nineteenth century, cotton weaving was introduced as a result of contact with
the outside world. As early as the 1850s, a missionary noted that every woman in
Iboland wove cloth from "the cotton which grows on the trees in abundance, and they
do it so beautifully."
Ibo women and girls also had a fondness for beads, trinkets, and ivory necklaces and
bangles. "Fashion varied. Ear and hair ornaments were very popular, as well as waist
beadsnkpulu−ife, or jigida," writes one historian. Some of the beads the women made
Crafts 32
and wore had certain spiritual and cultural attachments. For example, the waist beads,
a string of black, round beads of a particular pattern and design, could only be worn by
married or affianced women. "The waist beads must never be removed while a
woman's husband was alive." To remove the waist beads suggested a woman's
discontent with her married life and a readiness to ask for a divorce. Small wrist beads
were also worn by women and girls as charms.
Markets
Most crafts made by the Ibospottery, mats, beads, masks, carved doors, and so onwere
kept for family use. Others, however, were sold with surplus crops in the market either
for a profit or in exchange for something a family needed. Traditional Ibo villages
considered the marketplace part of the women's sphere. Richard Henderson, an Ibo
scholar and historian, writes,
Symbolically, the marketplace was defined as outside the sphere of
assertion by males, whether human or animal; any cock that crowed there
during trading hours must become the property of the women. The
connection of men with market trade comes mainly through their
individual sponsorship of their wives or daughters as traders.
Men, however, were not prohibited from attending the markets. They attended. But as
one historian puts it, "men sat together in their age groups, drinking and chatting,
while women did the lion's share of the buying and selling."
Since markets served as exchange centers for goods and services, they were
considered extremely important to the lives of the women. "It was a great punishment
for any woman, either by village or family sanctions, to be forbidden to go to the
market," says a British missionary who lived among the Ibos for thirty−five years.
"The market reflects the vitality of the Ibo society's economic life. It is intensive and
dominates the life of the people to an amazing degree."
Markets 33
Ibo market currencies were abundant and varied. They included cowrie shells,
horseshoeshaped manillas of copper and brass, brass rods, and tiny arrow−shaped
pieces of iron, called the umumu currency. Some goods were also simply exchanged
for other commodities of equal value through barter.
Market Days
The markets were held every four days, arranged around the Ibo week. (The Ibo week
is four days long eke, orie or oye, afor, and nkwo.) People from neighboring villages
were expected to attend. Since maximum attendance and participation was desired,
each village was careful to choose a day that did not conflict with the market days of
its neighbors. Consequently, each village market was named for the weekday that it
was held. The names contained two words, the first representing the day of the week,
the second, the village's name. Examples include Nkwo Otulu, Eke Nnarambi, Afor
Ogbe, Orie Ekpa.
The markets were held at a clearing in the center of the village, usually the village
square, with gigantic trees for shade. At the far corner of the square, underneath a
massive tree shade, was located the shrine of the market god. He was responsible for
maintaining peace and safety in the market and ensuring the villagers a profitable
trading day. Very early in the morning, before the start of the market session, the
women's leaders poured libations and prayed to the god of the market for the
protection of all attending. "Women age−sets within the village took turns keeping the
marketplace clean. They also arose at dawn on market days to sweep the square,
before the people began to stream in at sunrise," writes Sonia Bleeker.
The women arrived early at the market with loads of foodstuff, yams, cocoyams,
cassava, maize, peppers, and fruits, as well as baskets, mats, pots, and a few livestock.
"All goods and foodstuffs were set out in their appointed sections and lanes were
somehow kept between them," notes Leith−Ross. Buyers knew exactly what section of
the market to visit for the products they needed.
Market Days 34
Buying and Selling of Products
Prices were never set for the goods, and people haggled in loud voices before a trade
was completed. Prices asked by the sellers were always higher than those finally
agreed upon. The buyer examined the items of interest to show approval or
dissatisfaction. She then offered a price that was normally lower than the product's
worth. Both the seller and the buyer haggled until they reached a compromise. If they
were unable to compromise, the buyer was free to try her luck with other sellers.
"Generally, however, the prices of market commodities were set by supply and
demand," writes Victor Uchendu. For example, the price for staple foods like yam and
cassava rose in the planting season when farm produce was scarce and fell in the
harvest season.
Because of the haggling involved and the need to make a good sell or purchase, Ibo
women generally spent considerable time on the market scene. Often, going to the
market was a whole day's event. But, in spite of the long hours spent in the market,
Ibo women took pleasure in the market environment. The markets were more than a
shopping place for the women. They served as a meeting point to renew
acquaintances, discuss issues of common interest, gossip, as well as spread important
news. A visitor to traditional Ibo society noted that
the markets seem to strike one as almost incredible. It was filled with
clamor as of a stormy sea beating against the banked trees. Often as I
went to the market, it was never without a thrill that I caught the first
murmur of sound, mounting higher and higher above the tree tops.
Women kept the profits they made from selling their excess crops, pottery, and other
crafts. They used the money as they saw fit, either for their own personal desires or for
their family needs. Although, for most women, the profit made at the market was
relatively small, the women tended to concede that "a few heads of cowries were
worth having as a profit when life was on a modest scale, particularly when the
Buying and Selling of Products 35
gaining of them involved the pleasures of the market," writes Leith−Ross. Trading in
the marketplace gave women the opportunity to express themselves. And women who
excelled or became wealthy through trading were given much respect.
The fact that Ibo women combined several economic tasks, farming, making crafts,
trading, cooking, and other housework sometimes made their lives stressful. They
often showed signs of physical strain and made frequent references to the amount of
work they did. "They sometimes seemed to do more work than men," says one writer.
"But one, however, cannot deny the fact that earning their own money and [being]
valued for playing intrinsic roles in the lives of their families and the village gave Ibo
women greater freedom and control over their lives." As Denise Paulme, a teacher and
researcher in Africa for several years, notes, being economically independent
accounted for a sense of self, independence, and confidence that one often finds
among Ibo women. "Unaccustomed to relying on anyone but herself, the African
woman will have no need to acquire a feeling of self−confidence, since she is already
rarely without one."
A Subsistence Economy Based on Sexual Division
of Labor
Traditional Ibo society emphasized division of labor based on gender. In his book
Igbo Philosophy, T. Uzodinma Nwala explains how the economic division of labor
worked in precolonial Ibo society.
"Traditional Igbo society is predominantly an agricultural society with subsistence
farming in all corners of the society. The main crops grown include yam, cassava,
maize, rice, cocoyam. Certain areas, as a result of soil fertility, produce more than
others or rather are noted for certain crops. Palm products are also an important
feature of the economy. There is specialization or division of labor according to sex.
Men plant yams, climb palm trees and tap wine; they also clear and prepare the land,
cut stakes, train the yam vines, build barns and tie the harvest. Women plant their own
A Subsistence Economy Based on Sexual Division of Labor 36
varieties of crops (cocoyam, maize, groundnut, okra, pepper, etc.), weed and carry in
the yams from the farm. They also press the palm fruits to produce oil and kernel."
A Vital Economy
The market formed the center of financial activity in a traditional Ibo village. It served
as the place where villagers brought their surplus goods for sale or exchange for
other needed commodities. The markets were always rowdy and filled with great
vitality. Ibo women took pleasure in going to the markets because it also served as an
avenue for social meetings. Margaret Green describes Ibo markets in her book Ibo
Village Affairs.
"If agriculture is the basic occupation of these Ibo people, trading is a close second.
One might almost say that whereas they farm of necessity, they trade not only of
necessity but also for pleasure. Their markets are one of the main features of their
lives. They provide a meeting point for the discussion of common business and for the
dissemination of news; they are a social event where the spice of gossip, the recreation
of dancing and the zest of a bargain relieve the almost continuous toil of hoeing,
planting, weeding, and harvesting throughout the year. Trading is the breath of life,
particularly to the women among the Ibo, and the vigor with which bargaining and
haggling are conducted is evidence of the prestige attached to successful commercial
enterprise."
Traditional Ibo Currency
Traditional Ibo society used a variety of currencies in the markets, which Elizabeth
Isichei describes in her book, History of the Igbo People.
"They included cowrie shells from the Indian Ocean, horse−shoe shaped manillas of
copper and brass and brass rods. We do not know when each of these currencies came
into use, though they may have been of considerable antiquity, for cowries were used
A Vital Economy 37
in Benin before the Europeans came there, and excavations revealed objects very like
manillas. There were also interesting types of iron currency. A seventeenth−century
visitor to the Delta described the sting−ray shaped currency, the size of the palm of the
hand, made by the southern Igbo of 'Moko.' In the nineteenth century, early European
visitors discovered that in the area between Awka and Enugu, instead of cowries, a
currency was used, which was made of iron, like the coins of 'Moko,' and was similar
in shape, 'resembling a miniature arrow−head.' The size, however, was much smaller,
about half an inch in length."
A Vital Economy 38
Marriage
"'I nu−nwunye' (marriage) has a foremost place in Ibo social economy. It looms upon
the horizon of every maid and youth as an indispensable function to be fulfilled with
as little delay as possible after reaching the age of puberty," 74 writes G. T. Basden.
Two words, however, summarize the Ibo concept of marriage: community and
procreation. The Ibos believed that marriage was a community rather than an
individual event. People married, not necessarily for love and companionship, but to
fulfill the social obligation of maintaining the life of the community through
procreation.
Restrictions and Requirements
While infant−marriage (a boy and a girl affianced at birth) was an acceptable practice
in traditional Ibo communities, most marriages were between two consenting adults.
"And usually, it was a long, tedious, and ceremonious process that consisted of certain
laws and customs that must be observed," says an Ibo man. For example, marrying a
relation up to ten generations removed was considered nso ani (forbidden). Marriages
between people from the same village or the mother's village were also prohibited.
The woman of such a marriage was believed either to be unable to conceive a child or
to die when giving birth.
The groom was expected to pay a dowry for his wife and give gifts to the girl's mother
and other family members, as well as to members of her peer group. The paying of a
brideprice, explains the Nigerian writer Derry Yakubu, was an act that
demonstrated the bridegroom's respect for his wife−to−be and in−laws. It
was a token of gratitude and appreciation for the trouble the parents have
taken to bring up their daughter. In a sense, the bride price is a pledge of
value; the husband undertakes by that gesture to care for her.
Marriage 39
The bride's family was expected to reciprocate by providing their daughter with most
of the items necessary to begin life as a married woman, such as cooking utensils,
tools for tending her farm, and crops for planting. Rich families also provided their
daughters with one or two maids to assist in carrying out household tasks.
The Parents' Decision
Because marriage was a communal event, most marriages were arranged. Even though
the man and the woman involved were consulted, the decision of whom to marry
rested with their parents. The marriage process and arrangements were carried out by
the parents of the bride and groom.
Generally, when a girl reached the age of sixteen, she was considered ready for
marriage, and thus began to take great care with her physical appearance. "The process
was quite elaborate," says an Ibo woman. Special care was taken to adorn the hair.
"Many hours were spent in combing, pulling and anointing it; and often, it was
dressed in elaborate style according to fashion," writes Basden. The girl's body was
painted with freehand designs in deep black or red, using camwood dye, or uri.
Around the waist there was often a string of beads, or a rolled fragment of cloth
studded with tiny brass bells called jigida. The adornment was completed with ivory
bracelets. Girls with wealthy parents also wore coils of brass wire on their legs or
heavy brass anklets.
The girl took pains to appear graceful, very amiable, and industrious. These were the
qualities valued in a potential bride. Her family found opportunities to make her more
visible in society. They sent her on errands that would take her to neighboring villages
and potential suitors' family compounds. She accompanied her mother to the markets
and was encouraged to attend community dances and other ceremonies.
During this period of "showing their daughter," the girl's parents entertained several
suitors in their compound and eventually selected the best man for their daughter.
The Parents' Decision 40
"The process of selection took time," says Basden. "Since Ibo marriages are alliances
between families, parents had to be convinced that they were choosing the right family
as well as the right husband for their daughter."
Before reaching a decision, some parents consulted a diviner or the village priest about
the prospects for such a marriage alliance. All parents, however, traced family
histories to make sure that the two families had no blood ties. They also made
inquiries concerning the character of the suitor and members of his familytheir social
position, wealth, health, and the way that the men treated their wives. Personal
characteristics sought in a man included industry, assertiveness, generosity, and
"sense," or foresight (Uche). A family history of madness or wife abuse was enough to
reject a suitor.
The Marriage Process
As soon as parents were satisfied with their choice of a suitor, they sent word to the
potential groom and his family, indicating that they were ready to begin the marriage
process. The parents also told their daughter that they had chosen a husband for her.
"Ibo girls rarely manifested antagonism to a marriage proposal," writes Basden. "They
relied on their parents' decision, knowing that their parents would make the right
decision for them."
A date was set for the engagement ceremony, or Idoba mmanyi nwanyi. At the
appointed time, usually in the evening, the suitor and his family arrived, bringing with
them large kegs of palm wine (the traditional African alcoholic drink). The girl's
family provided the food for the event. Great care was taken during its preparation, as
it constituted one of the highest expressions of a family's means and the women's
prestige as good cooks.
After eating and drinking, the bridegroom's father would use idioms and proverbs to
announce the reason for their visit. The bride's father reciprocated the greetings and
The Marriage Process 41
would indicate to the groom that they expected him to fulfill all marriage rituals and
pay the bride−price. "The average bride price consisted of cows, yams, goats, and
cowries amounting to $200 or more depending on the social standing and personal
charms of the girl," notes Basden.
During this marriage event, it was proper etiquette for the prospective groom to
remain silent. His father spoke on his behalf. Generally, the groom simply nodded his
head and laughed with the others when something funny was said. Before the party
was dismissed, the intended bride made an appearance to welcome the guests. She
shook hands with each person present and, like the groom, she too did not speak. Her
appearance gave an opportunity for members of the suitor's family who had not met
her before to see her and make an assessment of her features.
Visiting the Family
Customarily, a groom did not make the entire dowry payment at one time. It was
usually spread out over several months. However, once the first dowry installment was
made, the bride was required to pay a visit to her betrothed husband's home. The visit,
or iga nleta usually lasted for sixteen days (four Ibo market weeks) and "provided the
opportunity for the girl to become acquainted with the members of the family into
which, in due time, she herself will be admitted," writes Sylvia Leith−Ross. The
groom's family also used the opportunity to judge the qualities of their new "in−law."
As Basden describes,
The girl's prospective family will comment upon her looks, her figure,
her behavior and general character. On the practical side, opinions will be
expressed concerning her capabilities in cooking and other items of
housecraft. The native is not reserved or punctilious [overly concerned
with manners] when pronouncing a verdict in such circumstances.
During the visit, the girl was not allowed to cohabit with the groom. It was considered
Visiting the Family 42
aru (an abomination) for the girl to be touched by her affianced husband while
spending her days of iga nleta at his home. "Should a girl have intercourse with her
fiancé or at any rate conceive by him before the marriage rituals had taken place, she
would be looked down upon by her companions who would make her a [derogatory]
song," explains Leith−Ross. The songs often presented her as a person with loose
morals, who violated community rules of behavior.
At the end of the sixteen−day visit, the girl returned to her home bearing several gifts
from her husband's place. If she was happy with her stay at her husband−to−be's
home, she kept the gifts. However, if she was displeased with her visit, she returned
the gifts, thereby ending the marriage process. If this happened, the girl's family would
return part of the dowry that had already been paid to them and then begin again to
look for another husband for their daughter. It was also acceptable for the groom's
family to end the marriage process if they found the girl's behavior during her visit
unsatisfactory. They would ask the father of the groom to stop the marriage
arrangements, for he or the bride's father could stop the wedding on demand.
Preparing for the Marriage Ceremony
"On the average, there was no fixed period between betrothal and actual marriage. The
time was governed by the man's circumstances, how quickly he could pay the
brideprice," says an Ibo woman. "However, the parties wanted to marry as soon as
possible in order to start a family." As soon as the larger part of the dowry had been
paid, relatives of the bride and groom consulted and fixed a date for the wedding. The
wedding date usually allowed four to six weeks for the bride to prepare herself for
marriage. This was often a happy time for the bride. She was pampered and exempted
from manual work. Her friends dressed her hair and painted her body with various
designs of uri, or camwood dye. Her mother prepared her favorite dishes.
In some communities, the bride and other girls in the village preparing to be married,
underwent the nkpu, or fattening ritual. The nkpu lasted for several weeks, during
Preparing for the Marriage Ceremony 43
which the girls fattened themselves while receiving instructions about their new
responsibilities as wives. "At the end of 'nkpu,' " says an Ibo historian, "the fatter the
girls were, the more gratified their prospective husbands." To the Ibos, being robust
was perceived as evidence of good health and a happy disposition. And most husbands
wanted a happy, healthy wife.
The Marriage Ceremony
The wedding day was a huge village event. All members of the village and family
members and friends from surrounding villages were invited. The groom arrived with
several kegs of palm wine. "Whatever else he may provide, he must not fail to arrange
for a plentiful supply of palm winethis is virtually an essential to a truly native
marriage," says Basden. The bride's family provided the food and the entertainment
during the ceremony, which was held in the bride's home.
Before the marriage feast began, the bride was called and given a small gourd
containing palm wine. She drank from it and then gave the rest to the groom. This
symbolized that the girl had agreed to the marriage, that she was not being forced into
a marriage she resents. The marriage feast lasted well into the night, with much
drinking, eating, and dancing. "The feasting and celebration was meant primarily for
the guests," says an Ibo priest. "Throughout the marriage feast, the bride and groom
sat demurely side by side looking rather the picture of misery than happy beings. It
was not considered good form to show any signs of joy. Indeed, it was proper for the
bride to manifest signs of grief because of leaving her old home."
Escorting the Bride Home
Sometime after dark, the groom was required to leave the marriage feast for his house.
He left alone. The bride did not go home with her husband the day of the wedding.
She was taken to her new home the following night by her unmarried female friends
and relations and the young men who the husband sent to "fetch" his wife. The Ibos
The Marriage Ceremony 44
call this custom idu ulo (escorting the bride home).
The ritual was done amid singing and much fanfare. Songs celebrating the bride's
beauty and her introduction to motherhood were abundant. Friends and relations
presented gifts to the bride in the form of money, domestic utensils, livestock, and
jewelry. Her parents also gave her yams and other food crops for planting. Girls of her
age helped the bride carry her possessions and her gifts to her new home.
At the entrance of the compound, the bride was met by the women of the groom's
family, who welcomed her and her entourage. They would continue singing, dancing,
eating, and drinking until her friends left. The bride was then taken to the shrine of the
family ancestor. Libations were poured and prayers offered on the bride's behalf. The
groom's father, presiding over the ceremony, asked for health, long life, and fertility
for the new bride.
After this brief ceremony, the bride was taken into the hut of her mother−in−law.
There she lived until a house was built for her, usually just before or after the birth of
her first child. As one Ibo man puts it,
In traditional Ibo marriage, a wife shares her husband's bed but does not
share his house. They, from the beginning, live separate lives, a testimony
to the communal rather than individual emphasis of Ibo marriages.
However, the new bride did acquire certain privileges. Though not sharing his house,
she received the husband's prime attention. She also received gifts from people in her
husband's village as a token of their love. She was given very light tasks to perform
and was always well dressed, in the new clothes and jewelry given to her by her
husband and other villagers. She was immediately considered a part of the husband's
family and, in time, would gradually assume her responsibility of helping maintain the
needs of the family.
The Marriage Ceremony 45
The new bride was also given a portion of the family land to grow her crops. The land
remained hers until she died or left the family through a divorce. As G. T. Basden
notes,
Traditional Ibo marriage was not merely a man taking to himself a wife.
It was more than that; it was the bringing in of another person into the
family. She was something more than a wife; henceforth she was a
member of the clan, has her rightful place and shared in all things
pertaining to it. 90
Polygamy
Part of the reason women did not share the same house as their husbands was that
polygamy was legal in traditional Ibo society, and most men had more than one wife.
Consequently, each wife needed a house for herself and her children. As Victor
Uchendu, an Ibo ethnographer, emphasizes, "Among the Ibos, married life was the
normal condition for both men and women; polygamy, a symbol of high social status,
was the ideal." Most traditional Ibo men had two wives; those who were wealthy had
up to ten or more wives.
Traditional Ibo culture has often been condemned by scholars because of its practice
of polygamy. They argue that polygamy was an indication of the degraded status of
Ibo women. "But seeing polygamy solely as a practice that devalued women is wrong
and a misconception," states Leith−Ross. Polygamy did not degrade Ibo women.
Polygamy was simply a reflection of a farming community's needs in meeting some of
its immediate demands for survival. As other scholars have pointed out, polygamy
served important social and economic functions for the community, specifically for
the women.
Polygamy 46
The Functions of Polygamy
"The practice of polygamy was a matter of survival for the women and the entire
community," writes Margaret Green. Traditional Ibo economy was based on
subsistence farming, and each family's survival depended on how much it could
produce on the farms. Polygamy assured that enough children would be born to help
farm and sustain the family. Since large portions of forest farmland needed to be
cleared, tilled, and cultivated for proper sustenance, a man, his one wife, and few
children were simply incapable of doing all the work. Those who tried it, as the people
soon found out after the missionaries came, either lived in perpetual poverty or the
women died in the effort to bear more and more children.
Polygamy also provided a reprieve for the women. "In fact, many women in
traditional Ibo society not only condoned polygamy, they suggested that their
husbands 'get' a second or third wife," states an Ibo anthropologist. "Sometimes,
women even married the wives for their husbands, if the husband was hesitant or
considered himself too poor to marry another wife." The reasons for doing this were
many. The Ibos at this time had no means of contraception. Because of their strong
attachment to children, abortion was not an option. Very few women actually
considered it. Consequently, having more than one wife constituted a form of family
planning. Women were able to space out the birth of their children over
two−to−three−year periods. This in turn ensured proper health for the women and the
children. It prevented, in most cases, untimely deaths due to frequent pregnancies.
Polygamy also provided the women some rest from endless work. Considering the
amount of work women had to do both within and outside the home, having more than
one wife ensured that there were enough women to share the burden of housework,
field work, and other responsibilities of an Ibo woman. It also meant that women had
some time for themselves and their children.
The Functions of Polygamy 47
Woman−Marriages
The counterpart to polygamy among the Ibos was the practice of "woman−marriages."
While the traditional Ibos did not practice polyandry (a woman married to several
men), they did accept woman−marriagesa woman marrying other women in order to
establish her own household. Women who married other women were called
"female−husbands."
These marriages, for the most part, were not homosexual marriages. Ibo women
married other women for several reasons. Some were barren women who married
other women to bear children on their behalf. Others were older women who had lost
all their children by death. The female−husbands adopted the children of their wives.
Thus woman−marriage was a way childless women affirmed their value and secured
their position in society.
Wealthy fertile women also married other women as an outward pronouncement of
their wealth and independence. Such women divorced their husbands, bought land,
and established their own compounds. An Ibo man describes his experiences as the
son of a wealthy female−husband: "My mother was then a big trader and she needed
someone to help in our house and so she married one wife after another." The
female−husband played the social role of father to the children of her wives. Their
inheritance would come through her.
The women married to female−husbands were not devalued in any way.
Womanmarriages underwent marriage processes and rituals similar to male−female
marriages. Traditional Ibos considered both types of marriages vital to the survival of
the community. In all marriages, women retained the freedom to leave a relationship if
they felt uncomfortable, neglected, or abused.
Woman−Marriages 48
Divorce
Divorce in traditional Ibo society was relatively easy to obtain. A man could divorce
his wife for adultery and neglect. Women divorced their husbands for reasons of abuse
and neglect, or if the husband was a known thief or criminal. There were no undue
hardships associated with divorce. The husband was entitled to the dowry he paid for
the wife, when and if she remarried. The man retained legal custody of the children
and the woman had visitation rights. "Consequently, divorced women were rarely
considered a burden to themselves or their families. Women, who wanted to remarry,
did so freely and repaid their dowries," writes Leith−Ross. Daughters were always
welcomed home. And most families went so far as to ask their daughters to return if
they were involved in an abusive relationship.
Widowhood
Because women married men who were at least fifteen years older than them, most
outlived their husbands. Precolonial Ibo society, therefore, had rituals that widows
were expected to observe. It also had set rules to protect the well−being of a widow
and her children.
When a husband died, his wives underwent a period of mourning that lasted for a year.
They were expected to crop their hair, live in seclusion, and wear rags for the entire
period. As Leith−Ross explains,
They may go to market, but not to their own village market; they may
farm, but they will be careful to go to their farms a little time after the
others have gone out, as men do not care to meet a widow too early in the
morning, lest the same fate befall them as befell the widow's late
husband. At the end of the mourning period, widows underwent a
cleansing ritual and were reintroduced into society.
Divorce 49
A woman whose husband died before they could bear a child had two options. She
either returned home to her parents and remarried or she married one of her husband's
brothers or his oldest son by another wife. Most of the time, the men were already
married. But since polygamy was allowed, adding a new wife was not a problem. The
interest of the new wife was protected and she was not treated differently from the
other wives.
A widow with children had several options also. She could choose to remain
unmarried, stay in her husband's home, and maintain her husband's property for her
children. In such a case, the husband's relatives were expected to look out for her
interests and protect her rights. She could also choose to marry her husband's brother
and become one of his wives. A third option was to return to her parents' home with
her children. And, as long as she remained unmarried, her husband's relatives were
required to provide for her. When the children came of age, they were then expected
to go back to their father's home to claim their father's property.
The laws governing marriage, divorce, and widowhood in precolonial Ibo society
maintained the people's communal way of life. But despite its emphasis on community
rather than individual survival, there were genuine attempts to maintain equity and
fairness. A woman reserved the right to reject the husband chosen for her by her
parents. She could also, without many repercussions, leave a marriage she found
unsatisfactory. And if she was widowed, there were established laws to protect her
interests and those of her children. For the most part, traditional Ibo women had the
freedom and the opportunity to decide their own fate.
Why Hawks Eat Chicken
Traditional Ibo marriages were arranged by the parents in order to preserve their
communal nature. To discourage the tendency to rebel against societal values and
choose a mate for oneself, the Ibos made up stories that foretold the doomed nature of
such marriages. Thomas W. Northcote, in Anthropological Report on the
Why Hawks Eat Chicken 50
Ibo−Speaking Peoples of Nigeria, cites the following folktale as one of many that
describes the ill consequences of marrying someone outside the sanctioned process of
Ibo communal marriage customs.
"Once upon a time, a girl met a man in an open place. He said, 'I want to marry you.'
She said, 'All right.' He said, 'I want to take you home.' She said, 'All right.' But she
did not know that the man was an evil spirit. When they reached the man's house, the
man took off his false nose, his false face, and his false hands. The girl cried and
wanted to go back home. But the man−spirit wouldn't allow it. Then a hawk saw the
girl crying and it had sympathy for her. So the hawk flew down, lifted the girl and
carried her to the roof of her parents' house. The parents were glad to see their
daughter. They offered the hawk a cow, some money, and all kinds of gifts. But the
hawk gave no response. He continued to hold the girl captive on the roof. Then a little
boy noticed that the hawk was staring at some chicken that were wandering in the
compound. 'The hawk is looking at the chicken,' the boy shouted in excitement. Then
the girl's parent offered a chicken to the hawk. The hawk took the chicken and ate.
Then he let the girl go. That's why hawks eat chicken. Because a hawk brought home
the girl who had married an evil spirit."
A Happy Occasion
Marriage was usually a grand and happy affair for the bride. In her book The Ibo of
Biafra, Sonia Bleeker, an anthropologist who had studied traditional Ibo society,
describes the preparation for this occasion.
"This time [marriage time] is usually a happy one for the girl. The girl's mother and
her girl friends prepare the bride's favorite dishes. They do all the cooking and
housework for her. She is bathed and her body is painted by her friends. Her hair is
combed and elaborately plaited. The girls sing and dance and talk, giving advice and
exchanging experiences. The young bride barely has time to think of any problems the
future may bring or to worry about leaving her kin and friends as she goes to her new
A Happy Occasion 51
home."
An Honorable Position
Polygamy among traditional Ibos was never intended to devalue women. In his book
Niger Ibos, G. T. Basden, an Episcopal archbishop and a historian of Ibo culture,
explains why an Ibo woman preferred that her husband take more than one wife.
"To be the one and only wife is humiliating. It is a sure indication that her husband is a
poor man. She would rather be the mistress controlling a number of other women than
be a person of no importance. Also, instead of being alone, she prefers to have
companions about her; in any case, there will be others with whom to share the
household chores. The wife of a polygamous husband stands to gain considerably. She
has more honor and respect from the community, freedom from loneliness and
domestic helpers at her beck and call."
The Husband's Duty
Traditional marriages had specific expectations for men and women. It was the duty of
the wife to bear children and maintain the household. Victor Uchendu, an Ibo
ethnographer, describes the husband's function in his book The Igbo of Southeast
Nigeria.
"The husband's main duty to his wife is to provide the conditions for her to maintain a
thriving and expanding household. He must provide the domestic setting in which his
wife works, and furnish her with a reliable supply of major staple foods from his
farms. He must allot a household garden to each wife and provide palm fruits from his
trees for the domestic use and for trade. The husband is also expected to allocate his
cotton crop for his wife's trade, and to give periodic trade advances in money to
finance her market activities."
An Honorable Position 52
Motherhood
In traditional Ibo society, the major function of a wife was to bear children.
"Companionship was all fine and dandy and love was good, but a childless marriage
was no marriage at all," says an Ibo woman. Denise Paulme, a teacher who lived and
taught for several years in Africa, writes that Ibo "women set greater store by their
children than by their husbands. For it was only by becoming a mother that they felt
truly fulfilled."
Traditional Ibo mothers proudly called themselves "the trees that bear fruit." The
phrase emphasized their procreative powers and recognized the fact that it was
through the children they bore that the survival of individual families and the future of
the entire community depended. Even in contemporary society, many Ibo proverbs
and phrases still express the value placed on children; for example, Onye nwe nwa ka
onye nwe ego (A person who has children is far greater than a person with monetary
wealth) and Nwa bu uba (A child is wealth).
Twins and Others
However, in spite of its emphasis on children, precolonial Ibo society had certain
taboos regarding childbirth, such as the birthing of twins, deformed or handicapped
babies, babies born feet first, or babies born with teeth. Such babies were simply
thrown away into the forest because they were considered abnormal and a bad omen.
"To traditional Ibos, abnormality was the equivalent of evil," writes Professor Nwala.
"Anything that seemed to deviate from the perceived natural order was seen as
evidence of 'aru' or an abomination committed by the parties concerned." It was,
therefore, the village responsibility to clear itself of such evils, punish the offenders,
and purify the community.
Motherhood 53
Pregnancy
Women were expected to show signs of pregnancy soon after marriage. A bride
became visibly worried if after a few months of marriage she did not get pregnant.
Often, family members would also begin to worry, and several sacrifices were then
offered to propitiate the gods and the spirits of influential ancestors. After several
years of failed expectations, the woman could divorce her husband and try her "luck"
with another husband.
If, however, a wife began to show signs of pregnancy, the family was relieved and
pleased. The entire family then took steps to observe the rituals necessary for a
successful pregnancy. Because of the high rate of miscarriages and infant deaths in
traditional Ibo villages, the people believed in complete observance of the pregnancy
rituals. Anthropologist Simon Ottenberg explains:
The rituals included total abstinence from sexual relations. The woman
must avoid places inhabited by spirits. She was expected to abstain from
eating certain foods which were thought to have a harmful effect on the
unborn child.
In addition to observing all the pregnancy rituals, the child's father was expected to
consult the village diviner who prescribed certain rules of behavior as well as herb
mixtures to be used in caring for the wife. Constant prayers were offered to the gods
and libations poured in honor of the spirit of the ancestors, asking for protection.
The Birth of a Child
Expectant mothers were looked after by the local midwives or older women in the
family. Babies were born at home, usually in a secluded place in the family
compound. In some communities, it was actually considered aru (an evil omen) for a
child to be born in the house. Such a child suffered the same fate as twins.
Pregnancy 54
The father kept away during the actual birth. "No males, not even herbalists or other
male medical practitioners, were allowed to be there; the child was born into an
exclusively female environment," states Ottenberg. The baby was expected to cry
vigorously at birth, as this was taken as a sign of health and vitality. "An infant who
did not cry at birth raised great concern. Every trick including pinching was used to
induce it to cry." The umbilical cord was cut by the attending female and buried in the
family courtyard. This act established the child as a member of the family. "It was also
believed that burying the umbilical cord in the ground united the child with the spirits
of the earth and its ancestors." This was necessary to ensure success and good health
for the child.
The new infant was washed with sand, and the skin was smoothed and massaged with
palm oil. Some communities also put nzu (white clay) on the baby's skin. "The 'nzu'
was believed to cool the skin and was also used as a multivocal symbol of good
health, fertility, good life, and happiness," describes Uchendu. Then, the child and the
mother were taken into the mother's hut, where a fire had been built for them. The
mother was expected to share the same bed with the infant and to nurse it for two to
three years. Until the baby was weaned, the mother was required to practice sexual
abstinence. "It was believed that intercourse while nursing a child was detrimental to
its health. It spoilt a mother's milk and would surely result in the child's death."
A Grand Village Event
The birth of a new baby was a grand occasion for the whole village. "It evoked both
joy and anxiety," says Uchendu. "The joy of the parents and others expressed the hope
that the mother will not die, that the child had not been born sickly and will survive."
105 As soon as the baby was born, messages were sent throughout the village. All the
women in the village then gathered at the new mother's compound to celebrate the
birth of the child. They rubbed themselves with nzu and chanted intricate piercing
cries called Iti oro (onomatopoeic shouts that have no meaning outside themselves). Iti
oro was accompanied by a brief dance that demonstrated the women's happiness.
A Grand Village Event 55
The father of the child consulted the village priest and diviners to inquire about the
fate of the child and to know which ancestor's spirit had been reincarnated. "A parent
was pleased to know that a certain relative has returned in the child; this confirmed a
sense of unity in human relations," explains Sylvia Leith−Ross. With the aid of the
priest, the father was required to visit the shrine of the ancestors to perform the rituals
requested by the diviner. The reincarnated ancestor was said to be the child's guardian
spirit, or Chi. Regular sacrifices were made to the Chi by the child or on its behalf for
as long as life lasted.
In addition to consulting the diviners, it was also the father's duty to send a message to
the wife's family announcing the arrival of "a new life." The person bearing the good
news took along a gourd of palm wine and other gifts (about six Ibo yams and some
dried fish) to show appreciation for the wife's family. On his return, he was
accompanied by the wife's mother.
Pampering the New Mother
The new mother was required to undergo a period of confinement, called ile omugwo,
based on the notion that she needed at least a month devoid of work and strenuous
activity in order to recuperate. It was the prerogative of the mother's mother to take
care of her daughter during this period of confinement. She resided with her daughter
until the ile omugwo ended.
The new mother was pampered during this period. She received daily baths of warm
water in which medicinal leaves had been soaked to facilitate her healing and was
given frequent massages with soothing lotions and herbs. The new mother was also
put on a special diet of very hot and spicy meals, laden with dried fish, but no oil.
"The complete and adequate care of the new mother was perceived as being necessary
to assure future pregnancies and health," writes Ibo historian Victor Uchendu.
Pampering the New Mother 56
The New Arrival
The baby was also pampered during the ile omugwo period. He or she was the
mother's only responsibility. First−time mothers obtained series of instructions on how
to care for the infant from their mothers and other older women in the family.
Neighbors visited, bearing goodwill and gifts for the baby. "Not to visit a new mother
and baby at this time would be considered an evidence of ill−will," says Uchendu. "To
come as often as possible was a mark of good neighborliness." Gifts received ranged
from small bangles for the new baby to prepared food for the new mother. There was
also entertainment for the visitors. "The father was obliged to show his love for his
wife as well as his social status by displaying drinks and foods for all the visitors or he
was met with unkind criticisms."
On the eighth day, or as soon as the child's navel cord had fallen off, he or she was
circumcised by a native doctor or midwife. Female circumcision was limited to
clitoridectomy. The Ibos never had any religious or other reasons to justify the ritual
of female circumcision. "The reason offered most for the practice was that it
facilitated childbirth later in life," says an Ibo woman.
The Naming Ceremony
At the end of ile omugwo, the much rested, and by this time robust−looking, mother
prepared herself and the baby for the naming ceremony. Traditional Ibos believed that
looking robust was a sign of happiness and good health. Skinny women were not
appreciated. As a result, during the time of ile omugwo every woman made the utmost
effort to look "healthy." People invariably made comments on her appearance. Ahu di
ya meant that she looks well. O tara ahu and Odika obi adighi ya nma (She lost
weight and It seems she is not happy) were considered the worst pronouncements
anyone could make about a woman who had just undergone a month of pampering.
The New Arrival 57
The day of the naming ceremony, Ikuputa Nwa, was full of activities. In the early
morning, the father provided his wives (but not the child's mother) and other
compound women with yams to cook for the feast. He also provided large quantities
of palm wine for the event.
During the actual ceremony, the child's mother adorned herself in new clothes
specifically bought and tailored for the occasion. From the compound and the
community, other women, dressed in their own best, joined her as they sang songs and
danced in celebration of motherhood and the changes the new child would bring to the
life of the family. Some of these unique songs sung by the women included "If your
mother sends you to work for her, do it!"; "Thank the person called mother. My
mother may it be well with you"; and "If a woman is under nursing and the soup does
not taste, then you know that she has no firewood," (that is, she cannot boil the soup
well because she is not in a position to obtain firewood, as she has just given birth).
Men were present during the naming ceremony, but mainly as observers. Naming
ceremonies were mostly an affair for the women. The village priest presided over the
ceremony. He blessed the child and prayed that he or she may live a long, productive
life. Sacrifices were made to the ancestors and at the shrine of the fertility god to thank
them for the birth of the child and to ask for continued health for both the child and its
mother.
Naming the Child
The child was given several names by major members of the familythe paternal
grandparents, the maternal grandparents, the parents, and elderly aunts and uncles.
"Names are not merely considered as tags by means of which individuals may be
distinguished," says Uchendu.
All Ibo names have meanings and each name given to a child expresses
either the circumstances surrounding the birth of the child, the family's
Naming the Child 58
wishes for the child, or, in cases of confirmed reincarnation, who the
child has come back as.
As in every culture, there were strictly male and female names as well as names that
were not gender specific. Common male names included Chukwuemeka (God has
done good), Ikechukwu (God's power), and Obinna (father's wishes). Common female
names included Adaku (daughter of wealth), Nnenne (mother's mother), Nnenna
(father's mother), and Onyinyechi (God's gift). Names that were not gender specific
included Ifeanyichukwu (nothing is too difficult for God), Chinyere (God's gift),
Ngozi (blessing), and Uchechukwu (God's will).
The Queen of Mothers
Large families were the norm, not the exception, among traditional Ibos. An average
Ibo woman bore six to twelve children in her lifetime. Seven children were considered
the ideal, because the number seven meant completeness or perfection to the
traditional Ibos. Women who bore more than seven children were considered
exceptional, and when a woman had a tenth child, some communities performed a
certain religious rite in appreciation of motherhood. The ritual was called igbu ewu
ukwu. This ritual dictated that a goat be killed to celebrate the woman's ability and
strength to bear children. After the ceremony, the woman was considered a "queen of
mothers." She acquired respect and status in society. People considered her rich and
blessed and, most often, she was viewed as a leader of women.
Mother as Sanctuary
However, every mother, no matter how many children she had, was considered sacred
and a sanctuary for her children. "Nobody in the world cares more for the good and
well−being of the child than its mother," the Ibos believe. Therefore, if a child who
was being punished by another family member ran to his mother, it was viewed
inappropriate to continue the punishment. The child considered himself safe from
The Queen of Mothers 59
harm because he had found a sanctuary.
The mother's natal home ( Ikwu Nne ) also served as a sanctuary for the child. It was
considered a "place of motherly indulgence," according to Richard Henderson, an Ibo
historian. "The daughter's child 'can do no wrong' in the home of his mother's parents.
He may enter the house and demand food, may enter a room and appropriate some
object which strikes his fancy." 111 A daughter's child was called nwa di ala (child of
the soil); the child was considered special and the mother's kinspeople, regarded
collectively as "mothers," were committed to protecting the child from harm.
Consequently, the home of the mother's parents functioned as a place of ultimate
refuge. A person who had committed a crime needed only to find his or her way to the
mother's natal home to be safe. Nobody would dare look for the individual in the
mother's natal home, even though people knew it was likely that he or she would be
there.
Reciprocally, daughter's children were expected to protect the interests of their
mother's family. "The daughter's child must be unfailingly loyal to his 'mother,' which
means that they can always rely upon him to help and support them in need," writes
Henderson. Daughter's children acted as peacemakers in times of intervillage conflicts
and protected maternal grandparents from harm. Should a fight break out, for
example, between the maternal and the paternal villages, a daughter's child would
always side with the maternal village. Describing her experiences living among the
Ibos, the British traveler and scholar Margaret Green writes,
A man should, in theory, be able to feel himself fairly safe in his own
birth place. But it is in the native village of his mother that he really feels
himself to be persona grata [a welcome person]. "I can climb up and pick
their cocoa−nuts and they will not mind," said one man to me as we
walked through his mother's village, and his bearing was that of one who
knows that he is welcome.
The Queen of Mothers 60
Even though women performed many important functions in traditional Ibo society,
they were valued most for their role as mothers. Mothers preserved the life of the
community through procreation. They also had the primary responsibility of
protecting their children from harm. And the children in turn were expected to remain
loyal to their mothers and their mothers' natal homes. As Victor Uchendu notes, "It
was because of the traditional Ibos' emphasis on mothers and maternal relationships
that the Ibos often say and sometimes name their children 'Nneka' (Mother is
Supreme)."
Nothing Like It
Traditional Ibo society considered children its most important asset. They were
essential to the survival of the community. Men and women therefore acquired and
maintained status in society through their children. As Simon Ottenberg, an
anthropologist, indicates in Boyhood Rituals in an African Society, nothing matches
the importance of having children for the Ibos, especially for the women.
"To have an offspring that survives is the most important success in an Ibo woman's
lifenothing matches it. Her marriage or marriages may fail, her farms may spoil, her
cooking may be terrible, she may lose money at trade, but if she has children to
survive she is a full woman, with status among females and respect from men. A
woman without children leaves her husband, tries another, and yet another, but has not
fulfilled the ideal of womanhood."
Naming Ceremonies
Naming ceremonies were great feasting events in traditional Ibo villages. Women
powdered themselves, danced, and sang songs in celebration of a new life and the joys
of motherhood. During an interview, Ulunwa Odimba−Nwaru recalls one of the songs
usually sung by the women during the event.
Nothing Like It 61
Obu onye n'akpo mama
(Who calls mother)
Nne mmuo
(My mother)
Obu onye n'akpo mama
(Who calls mother)
Nne mmuo
(My mother)
Ife di nma k'anyi kele nne
(It is good to thank mother)
Ayamma, Ayamma.
(Yes, Yes.)
Nne m onye o ga diri nma
(My mother, may it be well with you)
Ayamma.
(Yes.)
Ife di nma k'anyi kele nne
(It is good to thank mother)
Ayamma, Ayamma.
(Yes, Yes.)
Nne m onye o ga diri nma
(My mother, may it be well with you)
Nothing Like It 62
Ayamma.
(Yes.)
A Place of Refuge
The traditional Ibos considered the mother's natal home as a place of refuge and
protection for her children. A child was always welcome in its maternal grandparents'
home, as Richard Henderson, an Ibo historian, describes in his book The King in
Every Man.
"A person must maintain an active relationship with his mother's kinsmen if his life is
to be at all secure....For the daughter's child, the home of his mother's parents stands as
an ultimate refuge. In cases of marital separation, small children remain with their
mother when she returns home. If there is a killing within the patrilineage, and a
person is expected to hang for it, that person may flee to the home of [the] mother's
parents and find refuge there. If there are many disputes in a patrilineage, and so many
people die there that the land becomes a 'fiery surface,' all members of the group may
scatter to the homes of their mothers' parents. The strength of the relationship between
a daughter's child and his maternal grandparents is supported by powerful religious
sanctions. It is believed that major spirits of the land 'love their daughter's children.'"
Nothing Like It 63
Colonization
The political, social, religious, and economic lives of the Ibos changed forever when
Europeans discovered and settled in Iboland from the fifteenth through the
mid−twentieth century. As various historians have noted, contact with Europe and the
subsequent colonization of Iboland by the British disrupted the balance of power in
Ibo society and marked the beginning of the end for the traditional roles and status of
Ibo women.
The British Discovery of Iboland
Iboland's first contact with the European world occurred in 1472 when a group of
Portuguese traders accidently landed in Iboland during their attempt to discover a sea
route to India. One of these early visitors, the author of a navigator's guide written
about 1506, described Iboland "as a land of negroes, where there is much pepper,
ivory, and some slaves." However, these Portuguese adventurers did not stay long in
Iboland. "They bought ivory, pepper, [and] locally made textiles, which they sold
elsewhere in West Africa on their way home," writes Ibo historian Elizabeth Isichei.
With the traders' return to Portugal, news about the discovery of Iboland soon traveled
to other parts of Europe. And, several years later, around 1508, a group of British
merchants landed in Iboland. But, unlike the Portuguese, who generally bought local
materials and left, the British were interested in settling the land. They remained in
Iboland for the next four and a half centuries, from approximately 1508 to 1960.
Gradually, they colonized and imposed their way of life upon the natives.
The British colonial influence and activities in Iboland can be divided into three
phases. The first was the British merchants' economic exploitation of the land and its
inhabitants from the early 1500s onward. The second phase was the missionary
activity that began in 1841. The third and final phase was the political takeover of
Iboland by the British from 1884 until October 1, 1960. The combined influence of
Colonization 64
these activities, acting singly as well as simultaneously, overwhelmed and weakened
native institutions.
Economic Colonization
Why the British colonized Iboland for more than four centuries is still a topic of
debate among scholars. However, most agree that it was a combination of economic
gain and the spirit of adventure that brought Europeans to sub−Saharan Africa. As
some of the British colonial records show, the land with its thick forests was noted for
its potential to yield massive economic resources for the British, including ivory and
slaves, and later, palm oil and palm kernels. According to historian Michael Okonkwo,
The British merchants who followed the Portuguese traders to Iboland
were pri− marily preoccupied with making profits. Their activities
involved a two phased economic exploitation that began with the slave
trade and ended with the displacement of indigenous economy and modes
of production by European trading firms.
The Impact of Slavery
The first British slave ship left West Africa for the West Indies in 1518. "Inside the
ship were several Ibos who had either been captured by slave raiders or kidnaped by
thieves and sold for such trifles as a small mirror, beads, iron bars and liquor,"
describes Isichei. The Ibos tried to stop the slave trade, and they took precautions to
protect their families. But apparently the precautions were not effective. Historians
estimate that for the three hundred years during which the slave trade lasted
(1518−1851), millions of Ibo men and women were carried off into slavery. Over
twenty thousand Ibos were sold into slavery annually.
The slave trade took away able−bodied Ibo men and women from their native land and
terribly upset the population and the economic well−being of the people. "The slave
Economic Colonization 65
trade robbed Iboland of many of her members, in their prime of life, and of the
children they would have had," writes Professor Isichei. "We can only speculate as to
the contributions they would have made to Ibo life had they remained."
The effect of the slave trade, however, went far beyond the depletion of the
population. It disintegrated the social bonds that had been the basis of traditional Ibo
life by creating fear among the people. It also marked the beginning of the end for the
village−based economy the Ibos had practiced. People were afraid to travel long
distances for fear of being kidnapped. Farms in far away areas were practically
abandoned. Nobody could be trusted and everyone was considered an enemy. As one
former slave put it, "The whole population was continually in a state of perpetual
excitement and fear.... Their fields were neglected.... Every one was afraid of his own
neighbor." Thus, Iboland gradually shifted emphasis from a communal−based society
to a society of self−centered, fragmented lives. Since nobody could be trusted, people
wanted only to protect themselves and members of their immediate families.
The Ibos' inability to engage in effective long−distance trading and productively
cultivate distant farms during the slavery period put enormous strain on the lives of the
women. Since long−distance trading and farming were traditional male domains,
women increasingly found themselves looked upon to provide for the family through
their meager food crop production. Most women were unable to carry out this new
level of economic responsibility. So the Ibos, who in their traditional society had been
able to provide for themselves and their children, for the first time in their lives, began
to suffer the pains of hunger and poverty.
The British government banned the slave trade in 1807. But it was not until 1851 that
the slave trade was effectively stopped. "The last slave ship left West Africa for
Europe in 1851," writes Isichei. By then, the economic life of the Ibos had been
terribly weakened and required the combined effort of the Ibos and the British to
rebuild. But, rather than helping the natives restart their native economy, the British
merchants took advantage of the economic and social instability created by the slave
trade and introduced the second phase of their economic exploitationthe era of big
Economic Colonization 66
European trading companies that replaced what was left of the local economy.
The Trading Companies
At its healthiest period, the traditional Ibo method of producing food and other
commodities was slow paced compared to Europe. After the slave trade, the scale of
production was even smaller and slower paced. European manufacturers could
produce commodities much faster and cheaper than the natives. This proved to be a
profitable opportunity for the British trading companies. By mid−nineteenth century,
when the slave trade was coming to an end, "there was a great influx of goods into...
Iboland, an influx which was unprecedented," states Isichei. These imported goods
from Europe competed with and quickly rivaled locally made products. Local craft
industries such as smithing, cloth weaving, and pottery, as well as wine and beer
production, were easily displaced by cheap European−made products.
The new market economy introduced by the trading companies did not particularly
favor women. Although still in existence, local markets acquired a new European
outlook. Women lost the monopoly they had traditionally enjoyed over the market
environment, since everybody wanted a share in the new economy. And instead of
being filled with products made and proudly sold by the women, a typical market by
the turn of the century contained imported goods, from bicycles to canned milk, says
one writer.
Even more unfavorable to the women than the changing face of the marketplace was
the birth of a new gender−biased division of labor. The Ibos needed money to buy the
imported goods from Europe. The trading companies, however, were not interested in
buying anything from the natives, except palm oil and palm kernels. In their effort to
survive, the people abandoned their emphasis on subsistence−level agriculture and
began, almost exclusively, to produce palm oil and palm kernels. Men assumed the
responsibility of climbing the palm trees and cutting down ripe palm fruits. The
women were expected to pick the fruits, carry them home, and process the oil, which
The Trading Companies 67
the men then took to the market. Though they played a significant role, women were
not entitled to an equal share of the money obtained from the sale of the oil. They
received as much as a fourth of the profit to as little as nothing, depending on the
goodwill of the husband. As such, women's dependance on men increased and they
were still unable to meet the needs of their families. "Thus began the relationship
which condemned Ibo women to a vicious cycle of poverty and exploitation to this
day," writes Isichei.
Religious and Cultural Colonization
"But, perhaps the essence of traditional Ibo life would still have been saved, had the
disintegration of its economic and social life not been reinforced by missionary
activities," says an Ibo man. While the merchants were busy destroying the economy
of the Ibos, the Christian missionaries who came after them accomplished the breakup
of the people's religious and cultural belief systems. "This they did in their zeal to
convert the people to Christianity and to show them what they supposed was 'a better
way of life.'"
Ironically, the first missionary activities in Iboland began in 1841 when a group of
slaves who had been rescued and resettled in Sierra Leone returned to preach the
Christian gospel to their people. They were soon followed by European missionaries.
By 1892, Iboland was filled with many missionary organizations representing almost
all major European Christian denominationsthe Anglican Church, the Roman Catholic
Church, the Presbyterians, the Methodists, as well as other Evangelicals. According to
Elizabeth Isichei,
The missions had much in common. They were convinced that they had a
higher calling to convert the Ibo people to Christianity. They believed
that they were rescuing the Ibo people from a dark world of cruel
barbarism and savagery, and, by so doing, set their ways "right."
Religious and Cultural Colonization 68
The missionaries, both the returning expatriates and the Europeans, took one quick
look at the Ibo people and called them "primitive." The Ibo religion, rituals, and
customs they called "paganistic" and "evil." The concept of female priesthood was
considered outrageous, and diviners were simply viewed as "the devil's instruments to
deceive the people" and called false prophets Otu ndi mgbaasi in the Ibo language.
"The missionaries were hostile to Ibo religion. Not once, but repeatedly, in their
writings and correspondence does one find Iboland described as the kingdom of
Satan," notes an Ibo historian.
Thus, preaching their version of evangelical Christianity, male authority, and the
British culture, the missionaries set about condemning and dismantling the Ibos' social
and religious structures, as well as rules of established behavior. As such, female
organizations were disrupted. The rituals that the Umuada (daughters of a lineage) had
customarily conducted for the welfare of the families were considered "evil and
satanic." Those women who joined the church, or whose husbands or brothers joined,
were asked to abandon the rituals. Dancing was viewed as evil and obscene. Otu
Umuagbogho (the association for young, unmarried daughters of a lineage), whose
duty was to teach traditional dances to the young, was proclaimed the breeding ground
for the devil.
Title−taking was viewed as paying dues to the devil and was greatly discouraged.
Polygamy, the paying of a bride−price, and everything else the Ibos practiced and
believed in were condemned. "The missionaries seem to have had one motto:
'everything British was good; anything Ibo was bad,' " remarks an Ibo historian. The
fact was that the missionaries neither understood, nor tried to understand, the native
way of life.
Missionary Influence and the Mission Schools
At the beginning, converting the Ibos to Christianity was a rather difficult job for the
missionaries. Between 1841 and 1900, the number of Christian converts in Iboland
Missionary Influence and the Mission Schools 69
was estimated at a miserly 1,788. Most of the converts, according to an Ibo writer,
consisted of "the poor, the needy, and the rejected: the mothers of twins, women
accused of witchcraft, those suffering from diseases such as leprosy which were seen
as abominable." 128 However, the progress of Christianity in Iboland underwent an
astonishing transformation after 1900. In 1921, the number of Christians in Iboland
was estimated at 284,835. By the 1940s, about a third of the Ibos (approximately 4
million) had converted to Christianity. Why did the Ibos adopt Christianity with such
astonishing degree after half a century of relative indifference?
The major reason was the introduction of mission schools. By 1900, the missionaries
had expanded their activities in Iboland to include the establishment of schools. "With
the schools came the opportunity for formal education and employment in the new
colonial government that was sweeping through Iboland like forest fire," says
Leith−Ross.
The schools were not public; only church members and their children had access to
them. With the fringe benefits attached, the missionary educational advantage looked
very attractive. The people slowly but gradually abandoned their resistance to the
"foreigners" and joined the church in multitudes. As one writer puts it, "They realized
as they never did before that knowledge was power, and that it can command a good
salary." Everyone wanted to have a share in the new educational opportunities. As
Father Shanahan, a missionary stationed in Iboland about 1905, lamented in a letter to
his superior, "All our prestige in this country comes from the fact that we are
considered great educators."
Gender−Biased Education
Missionary education in Iboland, however, was greatly biased, and not gender
balanced. It created and fostered an atmosphere for the subjugation of women. While
boys were given a regular education that prepared them for public life, girls were
taught needlework, European domestic skills, the Bible, and how to be good wives and
Gender−Biased Education 70
mothers. Writes author Judith Van Allen,
The missionaries' avowed purpose in educating girls was to train them to
be Christian wives and mothers, not for jobs or citizenship. Missionaries
were not necessarily against women.... Their concern was the church, and
for the church they needed Christian families.
Whatever their noble intentions, missionary education reinforced the notion that
women were unequal and secondary to men. Women increasingly found themselves
disenfranchised. Their traditional modes of power diminished as they were excluded
from active participation in missionary activities as well as in the new colonial
government that the British were forming.
Political Colonization
The final phase of the British colonization of Iboland began in the 1880s. This was the
British political conquest of Iboland, often referred to as "the British expedition to
Iboland." "Up till this point in the history of the long and complex colonial
relationship between the Ibos and the British, the traditional Ibo political system was
still left untouched," says an Ibo historian. The lives of Ibo women had been
weakened economically and their religious beliefs and social attitudes had been
shaken, but they still had the traditional political institutions that operated on the basis
of separate but equal representation of men and women.
However, by the late nineteenth century, the British government was no longer content
to have only its merchants and missionaries in Iboland. It wanted total political
control. At this time in history, most ethnic groups in Africa were already under the
political authority of one European nation. With its extensive trading and missionary
presence in Iboland, the British thought that it would be relatively easy to make the
Ibos part of its subjects. But they were wrong. It would take Britain approximately
forty years of smallscale protests and massive wars to completely conquer and subdue
Political Colonization 71
the Ibos.
The Pacification of Iboland
When the British soldiers and officers sent to rule Iboland arrived, they found its
political makeup unsuited to their needs. They had expected to find a system of
government similar to that practiced in Europe and in other African ethnic groups,
where one man ruled and the rest paid homage to him. Instead, what they found in
Iboland were numerous democratic, independent villages that gave everyone the
opportunity to participate in community life through different political organizations.
"The British were surprised by the democratic nature of Ibo villages. They were even
more surprised by [the] level of women's participation in politics," writes Van Allen.
The British, however, did not appreciate the Ibos' political structure. They simply
regarded the political system that gave rights and representation to both men and
women as irrational and ridiculous. Some colonial officers called it "primitive"; others
saw it as evidence of a lack of order and discipline. They therefore began to dismantle
the people's traditional political structures and introduce a system of government they
thought more organized. As one colonial officer reported,
Practically all the systems of the natives have been done away with. I call
them systems for want of another word, but it would be more accurate to
say that their want of systems and method has been done away with and a
government organized among them.
The Division of Iboland
The first thing the colonial officers did in their so−called organized government of
Iboland was to ignore the independent nature of Ibo villages. They lumped all the
villages under one political administration called the Southern Protectorate. Then, they
joined the Southern Protectorate (Iboland) with neighboring ethnic groups and called
The Pacification of Iboland 72
the new creation Nigeria, meaning "the land of the Negroes."
For better control, Iboland (the Southern Protectorate) was arbitrarily divided into
provinces and divisions. There were six provinces altogether, each containing about a
hundred subcategories called divisions. The divisions were ruled by a select group of
missionaryeducated natives appointed and given authority by the British. The natives
in charge of the divisions reported to a British colonial officer, or resident, in charge
of their province. The resident was assisted by two or three junior officers and a
number of cadets. The resident and his men were under a British governor general in
charge of the entire Southern Protectorate. There were no women in the administration
of the provinces or the divisions. Van Allen explains:
Thus, British imperialism submerged the democratic character of Ibo
traditional politics and destroyed most of the political institutions through
which women protected their interests. It destroyed women's traditional
autonomy and power without providing modern forms of autonomy or
power in exchange.
What was left of the traditional lives of women at this time simply fell apart as a result
of the British reconstruction of the political character of Ibo society. Women could no
longer make policies, let alone enforce them. Decisions reached during the women's
gatherings were no longer binding. For the first time in their lives, Ibo women were
told what to do, and they had to obey. "They saw themselves as nonentities in the new
colonial system and in the new society the British had created," says an Ibo woman.
The women were not about to sit quietly and watch the colonizers ignore them and
take away their political authority. To show their anger and frustration, they began a
series of protests that quickly developed into what is now known as the Ibo Women's
War of 1929. Although the resistance lasted for only a few months before it was
crushed by the British, it marked the Ibo people's last united attempt to resist
colonization and British incursion upon their lives. It is also remembered as the Ibo
women's heroic and fearless confrontation against British imperialism.
The Pacification of Iboland 73
The Ibo Women's War
"The Women's War movement began as a series of small localized protests organized
and carried out by the women to complain about their new subservient position in Ibo
society," states writer Van Allen. As stated in the official British report about the
incident, the women said that they were not as happy as they were before the British
came. They said that the land had changed and that they were dying. And they
demanded that all white men go back to their own country so that the land might
return to the way it was before the British came.
The small protests grew and culminated into large demonstrations on November 23,
1929. Ibo women living in the Aba, Owerri, and Calabar communities converged at
various colonial administrative centers. They were all dressed in the same unusual
way short loincloths, faces smeared with charcoal or ashes, and heads bound with
young ferns. They also carried sticks wreathed with palm fronds. This was the way Ibo
women traditionally dressed when they were angry about policies and wanted some
changes. "Every aspect of the women's attire symbolized distress and desperate
circumstances," states historian Leith−Ross. "It was also a symbolic call to the gods
for help."
The women chanted, danced, and sang songs that expressed their anger and
complaints. The demonstrations lasted for about six weeks, each day growing stronger
and the women growing more reckless in their demands. Some women went as far as
destroying or damaging anything they associated with their oppression by the British.
Some broke into prisons and released prisoners, while others attacked the British
courts and set fire to official buildings.
The British Response
The British colonial officials did not try to understand the women's demands, nor did
they try to appease them. They saw the women's behavior as evidence of the Ibos'
The Ibo Women's War 74
"irrationality and primitiveness." One British colonial officer who later reported on the
event simply called them "crowds in a state of frenzy." Facing such arrogance, Ibo
women really had no chance to achieve their aim.
By mid−December, three weeks into the demonstration, the British officers at the
scene felt that their lives were in danger. They sent for large numbers of police and
soldiers to help stop the rebellion. The armed troops fired at the women, killing
approximately fifty and injuring many more. They chased the women into the villages,
burning and demolishing compounds, cutting down trees, looting farms and livestock.
Properties were confiscated and fines amounting to $6,000 were levied against each
village in order to pay for the damages caused during the riots.
"The shooting was on the 17th of December. Trouble continued sporadically in
various parts of the disturbed area. But by the 20th the situation was completely in
hand," states Professor Isichei. The Ibos never attempted any other significant
resistance against British invasion after the Women's War. As one Ibo man says, "The
Ibos lost heart." The Women's War showed them the futility of any resistance effort.
The British were better organized and better equipped and determined to carry out
their mission of colonization. There was nothing the Ibos could do but accept the
power and authority of the invader.
Iboland remained under British colonization until October 1, 1960, when Nigeria
gained its independence from British rule. Although Britain's political withdrawal
from Iboland was a peaceful process achieved by international pressure, the four and a
half centuries of political, economic, religious, and social suppression of the people
had taken its toll. Life as the Ibos had known it changed, and the lives of its women
would never be the same.
The Social Cost of War
It is really an understatement to say that the Ibos suffered tremendously from the
The Social Cost of War 75
British invasion and the numerous wars that followed. In her book History of the Igbo
People, Elizabeth Isichei, a professor of history at a Nigerian university, describes the
devastation.
"It will be evident from the foregoing that the colonial conquest of Igboland was
accomplished at great cost, both in human lives and in property. The many deaths, the
looted farms and livestock, the houses razed, the trees cut down, are adequately
documented even in British records, and are remembered with poignant emphasis in
the traditions of the Igbo community concerned. The people of Ameke in Item [a
village in Iboland] still annually observe the day in 1916, of the conflict with the
British'the blackest time of Item when one of the four principal villages was turned
into a desert.'"
Hunger for Education
At the beginning of the twentieth century, many of the Ibos who had been unresponsive
to the teachings of Christianity joined the church in great numbers. This was primarily
due to the establishment of mission schools that gave the people opportunities for
education and good employment in the new colonial government, described below by
Sylvia Leith−Ross in African Women.
"The missionaries came, bringing salvation in one hand and education in the other.
The people had no hunger for salvation but they were hungry for education which they
saw would benefit them. Apparently education was indissolubly bound up with
'church.' Some missions even insisted that literacy was required for baptism. The Ibo
was nothing loath. Provided he acquired literacy, he did not mind being baptized: to
the missionary, education was the handmaid of religion; to the heathen, religion was
the means to education. They felt no need to another faith but they had great need of a
new way of attaining wealth. The parents themselves often did not bother to change,
but they willingly offered their children to the new God who was able, not only to
unlock the gates of Heaven and Hell but, what was much more important, to open the
Hunger for Education 76
doors of European trading firms and the desks of Government offices."
Political Disenfranchisement of Ibo Women
The British colonial officers enforced genderdiscriminatory principles in Iboland.
Coming from a society that did not recognize female participation in public life, the
British soldiers excluded Ibo women from the colonial government, as Judith Van
Allen writes in her essay "'Sitting on a Man.'"
"The experience of Ibo women under colonialism shows that Western influence can
sometimes weaken or destroy women's traditional autonomy and power without
providing modern forms of autonomy or power in exchange. Ibo women had a
significant role in traditional political life. As individuals, they participated in village
meetings with men. But their real political power was based on the solidarity of
women, as expressed in their own political institutions their 'meetings,' their market
networks, their kinship groups, and their right to use strikes, boycotts, and force to
effect their decisions.
British colonial officers generally failed to see the political roles and political power
of Ibo women. The actions of administrators weakened and in some cases destroyed
women's bases of strength. Since they did not appreciate women's political
institutions, they made no efforts to ensure women's participation in the modern
institutions they were trying to better."
Unsuccessful Resistance
One of the reasons the British succeeded in conquering Iboland was that they had the
superior weapons of war. Elizabeth Isichei explains in her book History of the Igbo
People that the Ibos realized too late that the British had massive weapons of
destruction, and what seemed like an unlimited supply.
Political Disenfranchisement of Ibo Women 77
"The problem which faced the Igbo was that of arms and ammunition. When the
British invasion of Igboland began, they discovered, too late, that the British did not
themselves fight with the weapons they had sold their Igbo customers. The Igbo
fought with capguns, dane guns or matchets, and the occasional rifle, and suffered
from the chronic shortage of ammunition. The British fought with rifles and machine
guns, and unlimited supplies of ammunition. To keep down their own casualties, they
volleyed continuously into the bush as they advanced. What is astonishing, is not that
Igbo resistance was unsuccessful, but that the Igbo, in the teeth of all these difficulties,
resisted at all."
Political Disenfranchisement of Ibo Women 78
The Modern Ibo Woman
Colonialism may have brought some good to the Ibos, such as formal education and
the ushering of Ibo men and women into the realm of world affairs and economy. But
it threw traditional Ibo society and its system of thought into a state of disequilibrium.
As one Ibo man states, "The white man took a relatively functional world and turned it
upside down. The society which our ancestors had created worked for us. The new one
created by the British simply does not work." Modern Ibo society is simply a world of
confusion, of conflicting ideals and beliefs. "The people's ultimate aim, it seems, has
become a quest for individual survival," notes Ibo historian Felix Ekechi.
Political Changes
One important legacy of colonization that affects the lives of women is what the
historian Nkiru Nzegwu describes as "the apathy of modern Igbo women toward
political activity." Contemporary Ibo society denies women active political
participation. Women can vote; they can help men run for political office. But they do
not hold leadership positions. "One would have expected modern Ibo women to rise
up and demand their political rights the way their mothers and grandmothers had
done," says anthropologist Kaneme Okonjo.
But the caliber of modern Ibo woman is different from her past ancestors.
Most of them accept their secondary, subservient status without much
thought. They appear unconcerned about issues with wider political and
social implications.
What is the reason for this sense of political apathy found among modern Ibo women?
Why do they appear more politically complacent than their foremothers?
The Modern Ibo Woman 79
Economic Changes
Why modern Ibo women are politically apathetic may be explained by their new
economic realities. When the British sent women home to be good wives and mothers
during the colonial rule, they never told the women how they were to survive
economically. While the men, for the most part, enjoyed their newfound public power,
few were willing to take on the traditional economic responsibility of the women.
Moreover, the meager income earned by men was not enough to provide adequately
for the needs of the family without help from the women. Thus women, stripped of
public power, barred from active and productive participation in the new economic
system, still had the responsibility of feeding their children and other members of their
families. "It has not been an easy task," says an Ibo mother of six. "We have no time
for anything else. All we can afford to think about is how to feed our children."
Comparatively, the economic life of contemporary Ibo women has regressed rather
than improved since precolonial times. At least precolonial Ibo women farmed their
land and were able to provide food and comfort for their family with the help of their
husbands and children. Today, most women have to go it alone. Modern Ibo men, says
Peter C. Lloyd, an anthropologist, "suffer a sense of dissociation from the land. They
maintain an attitude of repulsion from manual work." Rather than staying in their
native villages to cultivate the land, they migrate to the cities and towns looking for
work and supposedly better ways of life. Most of them often leave their wife (or
wives) and children in the villages to fend for themselves as best they can.
For the women left in the villages (approximately half of Ibo women), life is relatively
difficult. They sustain themselves through subsistence farming. "But the joys and
jokes that had attended work on the farm in pre−colonial times have been replaced by
worn, tired faces," says Professor T. Nwala. "Work has simply become a way of
expressing life and the desire to continue living."
Economic Changes 80
City Life
Women who migrate to the cities and towns alone, or with their husbands,
acknowledge that abandoning the agricultural life in the village does not lessen their
economic hardships. Of course, those fortunate to have received formal education can
live better lives, as they are able to find employment in the public sector as nurses,
doctors, lawyers, and teachers. But the colonial legacy that favored men's education
over women's means that relatively few women occupy these positions. The gap
between men and women in the public economic sector is still very wide.
The discrepancies in education force most urban women to become self−employed.
The fortunate ones acquire money from their families and start vocational businesses
like tailor shops, restaurants, beauty salons, or small grocery stores. But since opening
a vocational business requires huge capital, few women have the opportunity to open a
business.
This leaves many women with the option of becoming petty traders. "Petty trading has
become a normal feature of modern Iboland," writes Victor Uchendu. "Women hawk
small items like bread, groundnuts (peanuts), bananas or fruits." Some women carry
the items in large trays and move from place to place in search of buyers. Others
prefer to set up a table in front of their homes or on highways and sell the products to
passersby. The reality for these women is that they work long hours for relatively little
profit. "When the economic lives of modern Ibo women are evaluated," says Robin
McKown, an anthropologist,
poverty and hunger [are] a reality for many families. There is hunger in
the rural villages where subsistence farming is left to women and old
people. There is hunger in the cities where many workers can not earn
enough money to properly feed their large families or pay for their
children's school fees.
City Life 81
The Family
The changes in the political and economic lives of contemporary Ibo women have also
affected traditional family values and relationships. "The face of the Ibo traditional
family has changed tremendously," states Lucy Onyekwere, an Ibo mother. "The Ibo
traditional extended family unit is still recognized. But more and more Ibos are
forming nuclear families." This is primarily a result of the people's gradual
abandonment of polygamy, condemned by the Christian faith, as well as the mass
migration to the cities. Whereas in the past a typical family consisted of a man, his
wives, his sons, his sons' wives, and unmarried and divorced daughters, today a typical
Ibo family consists of a man, his wife, and many children.
The shift from extended to nuclear family units has created serious problems that
threaten the core of Ibo society. "As men and women move to towns and focus on
their single family units, their relationship with their descent groups inevitably
weakens. As familial bond weakens, so does loyalty to one's family," says historian
Peter Lloyd. Most Ibos express dismay at the disintegration of Ibo family life
promoted by the loss of strong extended family relationships. "People have lost their
sense of sharing and belonging," the Ibos complain. A newly married Ibo woman,
Uchenna Adigha, describes how she has never met her uncle who lives in a city in
northern Nigeria: "He did not even care to attend my wedding, even after several
messages had been sent to him."
The changes in the traditional family structure have not improved the social lives of
Ibo women. Small families and monogamous marriages have apparent advantages,
such as eliminating jealousies between co−wives and giving men and women the
opportunity to develop single loving relationships. But, for the most part, the changes
seem to stifle and confine women. As Christina, an Ibo grandmother, notes, "The
modern marriage is a prison."
Shifting family values have created tensions between men and women. Husband−wife
The Family 82
relationships seem to follow a quasi−Western pattern that reflects the confusion of a
people trying to mix two cultural ideals. Men seem to be uncertain about the type of
relationship they want. "They try to adapt traditional values to those they have
acquired through contact with the West and what results are conflicting expectations,"
notes Lloyd. For example, while the achievements of "an aggressive, vocal woman"
are admirable, silence and subordination are promoted as ideal female behaviors.
While they may respect a woman with advanced education, most Ibo men still do not
want their wives to become "too educated." It is a common belief that "too much
education spoils the woman and makes her uncontrollable." As an Ibo woman notes in
frustration, "Present−day Ibo society does not know what it expects from its women. It
gives conflicting messages."
Divorce and Widowhood
Shifting values have also affected the Ibos' attitude toward divorce and the treatment
of widows. In traditional Ibo society, women were free to leave a relationship they
found unsatisfactory for reasons such as abuse or abandonment, and there were no
undue hardships associated with divorce. Daughters were always welcomed home,
with families regularly asking their daughters to return if they were involved in
abusive relationships. Present−day Ibo society, however, frowns upon divorce,
arguing that it goes against the law of God. Upon marriage, families simply tell their
daughters "not to bother coming back."
"The negative stigma currently attached to divorce forces many women to remain in
unhealthy relationships," says an Ibo woman. "Those who are courageous enough to
get a divorce are ostracized by both society and their own family members." They are
severely punished. The husband who, in most cases, is angry that his wife left
punishes her by forbidding her from seeing her children or having any relationship
with them. Society punishes her as well. If she occupies any position in the church or
in society, the position is taken away. She is considered an aberration and will almost
never remarry. "Such negative repercussions make most modern−day Ibo women
Divorce and Widowhood 83
choose to endure the abuses of an unhappy marriage rather than incur public outrage,"
notes an Ibo woman.
The life of a widow is not much better than that of a divorced woman. Most of the
traditional laws that protected the rights and property of a widow and her children are
now practically obsolete. With a new sense of individualism and lack of family loyalty
created by the changes in the family structure, most Ibo men are becoming rather
selfish, selfish enough to appropriate their brother's property and deny the widow and
her children their property rights.
A widow with children often finds herself fighting with her husband's brothers to
protect her interests and those of her children. The life of a widow is difficult. She is
often alone in her struggles and, unless she is strong and diligent, she will become
destitute. Although people outside her husband's family feel sympathetic toward her,
and marrying a widow does not carry the same stigma as marrying a divorced woman,
she will most often not remarry. Not many men want to deal with the problems and
family squabbles a widow inevitably brings to a relationship.
A Revival of Traditional Ibo Values
With the obvious economic and social instabilities in the lives of contemporary Ibos,
many have begun to ask whether the Ibos are not better off going back to reclaim their
past. There is a strong belief among concerned Ibo men and women that reinstating
traditional rituals and customs destroyed during the British contact will bring balance
and restore the Ibos' sense of cultural identity.
These voices argue that if the Ibos are to make progress for themselves and their
children, they must first rediscover their history. They must have a basis upon which
to stand and build the future. In an address given by a former Nigerian head of state,
General Obasanjo, he asked the people, "Should we not, in our own interest and in the
interest of humanity, hark back to our traditions of 'esprit de corps' and communalism
A Revival of Traditional Ibo Values 84
and build an economy and a society of our own?" General Obasanjo was convinced
that the only way the people can succeed in creating a better life for themselves and
their children is to revamp the rapidly disappearing traditional values and beliefs.
In the wake of the revivalist movement, many Ibo communities have begun to
reinstate traditional female political associations. Some communities have
reestablished the position of the Omu (the women's spiritual and political leader).
Kaneme Okonjo, an Ibo, describes how a new Omu was recently reinstalled in the
Oguashi Ibo community.
It was the first such event in the town since independence. After the long
period of non−recognition of the Omu during the colonial era, a renewed
spirit of loyalty to her and support of her role is readily apparent in the
community.
Although greatly discouraged by Christian churches, many women have begun to take
traditional titles. In some communities, like that of Otulu Mbaise in Imo State, many
of the traditional female social groups are making a comeback. Several
community−based women groups have formed and are participating actively in the
development and management of community affairs.
A House Divided
But there are problems with this crusade to reclaim the past. The movement is not
widespread. Some Ibos see the effort as wasted. They argue that "no generation can
ever succeed in reviving any culture in its entirety." Moreover, they contend that there
are certain traditional practices, like the killing of twins, that the Ibos are better off
without. "What the Ibos need today and in the future," quotes Ekechi, "is to be
selective and practical. The Ibos should examine their traditional customs and cultures
closely and determine which aspects should be revived and which should be
discarded." The question that remains to be answered, however, is Who makes the
A House Divided 85
decision? Who has the ultimate authority to decide which customs should be revived
and which should be discarded? Ibo men and women today have diverse interests,
education, ambitions, and ways of life. This makes it extremely difficult, if not
impossible, to unite and achieve one goal.
On the far end of the debate, however, are those who question the efficacy of going
back to what is past. Ekechi quotes one critic as saying, "The world is changing fast.
The Ibos are better off marching with the tunes of the time, looking to the future and
not to the past." This group contends that the Ibo society has made major gains in
increasing the standard of living since its independence from British rule. "We must
prevent a reversal of our major gains," they assert. "The prospects for success are
brighter now than ever before and we must not relent in our efforts."
As one of the leaders of Iboland, the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, remarks, "No nation
can grow out of chaos." Things in current Iboland look quite chaotic. One wonders
how the people can prosper by rejecting their traditions. One also wonders whether
there can be a future without an appreciation and recognition of the past. But the
verdict as to which way Iboland should go is still out. The questions of what the future
holds for modern Ibo women and where they see themselves in the twenty−first
century are still being asked, with no solid answers given.
The Disintegration of Ibo Extended Family Life
One of the legacies of colonization is the disintegration of the extended family unit.
Simon Ottenberg, in "Ibo Receptivity to Change," describes how the Ibos leave their
close−knit villages and move to the cities, where they eventually lose traditional
family values.
"The larger unilineal descent groups [extended families], so characteristic a feature of
Ibo society, are becoming less important as lineage and clan members leave home on a
temporary or permanent basis, as traditional agriculturenormally under lineage and
The Disintegration of Ibo Extended Family Life 86
clan controlcomes to play a less vital role in Ibo economy, and as belief in ancestral
spirits gives way to Christianity. In turn, the importance of the smaller family
groupings as social and economic units is increasing. These changes in kinship
organization are most noticeable in the urban centers but are also occurring in the rural
areas."
A Wonderful Heritage
Eze Akanu Ibiam, an eminent statesman and former governor of Eastern Nigeria,
supports the idea of going back to rediscover the Ibo heritage as a way of building the
bridge to the future and remedying the chaotic social, economic, and political
conditions of lives in present−day Iboland. The following is an address given at a
workshop on Ibo culture held at the University of Nigeria Nsukka. It is excerpted from
Felix K. Ekechi's book Tradition and Tranformation in Eastern Nigeria.
"At a time when [peoples] the world over ... are deeply conscious of their own
particular lifestyles, their peculiar identities, and dignity, it is my avid hope that [the
Ibos] will bring to the forefront... the variety of ways of living which marked our
forefathers as men and women of sagacity, great intelligence, foresight, and
outstanding courage.
We have lost a good deal of the wonderful heritage which our fathers built up and left
behind for us. We are now a mixed group of Christians and non−Christians. We are
composed of literates and illiterates. There are the very rich and very poor. Our
beautiful and praiseworthy extended family system is crashing and might finally
become a thing of the past, if we do not wake up to our blessed responsibilities. It is
incumbent upon all Ibo men and women to reclaim their heritage, to work toward the
revival of Ibo culture."
The Disintegration of Ibo Extended Family Life 87
The Future
There is no question that contemporary Ibo society regards its women as secondary
citizens. "They are denied the right to self−representation and treated like minors,"
says Nkiru Nzegwu, an Ibo woman. "Their economic lives are anything but pleasant."
But how long Ibo women will remain disenfranchised and what the future holds for
them are still questions to be answered. Felix K. Ekechi, an Ibo professor of history,
reminds that "as with cultures of the rest of the world, Ibo culture is not static, but
prone to change, and changing fast." Anything can happen.
Even more significant to the future of Ibo women and society are the challenges and
pressures the new generation of young Ibo women are exerting. The generation of
girls who will mature and become Ibo women at the turn of the twenty−first century
want better lives than those of their mothers; they have different expectations of
married life and different views of life in general. "They insist that they want
balanced, stable and fulfilling lives, equality with men and greater participation in the
political life of the society," states Ulunwa Odimba−Nwaru, an Ibo mother of three
girls. "When one talks with them, one sees a determination to succeed where their
mothers have failed."
The discussion concerning the need to revive traditional Ibo values seems to be lost on
this generation. "Young men and women are often intolerant and impatient of
traditional ways and values. A few are ashamed of them," writes Peter Lloyd, a
historian. "They equate success and civilization with westernism and are quick to
borrow whatever comes their way." "But all hope is not lost," says an editorial in a
recent West African newspaper. "What the future holds still remains to be seen." As
the Ibos say, "Echi di omirimi" (The future is too deep), and "Ka ndu di," (Let there be
life). Embedded in the phrases are feelings of hope and possibility.
The Future 88
The Road Not Taken
Modern Ibo boys and girls believe that the way to a good life is by abandoning
traditional values and borrowing from the West. To them, progress and civilization
are equated with Western values. Their views are well expressed in this poetic extract
from the "Song of Ocol" by Okot p'Bitek. The complete poem can be found in p'Bitek's
Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol.
Bid farewell
To your ancestral spirits
Fleeing from the demolished Homestead,
With their backs to you
They can no longer hear
Your prayers,
Waste no more chicken or goat
Or sheep
As sacrifices to them,
They are gone with the wind
Blown away with the smoke
Of the burnt Homestead!
Stop crying
You woman,
Do you think those tears
Can quench the flames
Of civilization?
Wash your face with cold water
Here's soap and towel
Take some aspirin
It'll clear your headache
I see the great gate
Of the City flung open.
The Road Not Taken 89
I see men and women
Walking in...
And what are you doing there
Under the tree
Why don't you walk in
With the others?
Are you homesick
For the deserted Homestead?
Or are you frightened
Of the new City?
You have only two
Alternatives, My sister,
Either you come in
Through the City Gate
Or take the rope and hang yourself!
For Further Reading
Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart, exp. ed. Oxford: Heinemann Educational
Publishers, 1996. This is the newest edition of the internationally acclaimed novel that
describes life in traditional Ibo society and how the coming of the British changed the
lives of the people.
Ivonne Ayo, Africa. New York: Knopf, 1995. Gives good illustrated descriptions of
life in precolonial and present−day Africa, including a section on life in Nigeria.
Buchi Emecheta, The Joys of Motherhood. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1994. Traces
the lives of two generations of Ibo womenthe life of the mother in traditional Ibo
society and how life changed for her daughter after the British came.
For Further Reading 90
A. T. Grove, Africa. London: Oxford University Press, 1978. Easy−to−read
descriptions of various geographical regions of Africa and the lives of the people in
those areas.
Johanna Hurwitz, ed., A Word to the Wise: And Other Proverbs. New York: Morrow
Junior Books, 1994. Contains some Ibo proverbs and their meanings.
Elizabeth Isichei, The Ibo People and the Europeans. New York: St. Martin's Press,
1973. Gives a fascinating description of life in Iboland before and after the British
colonial encounter.
Colleen Lowe Morna, "Women," Africa Report, vol. 40, no. 1, January/February 1995.
Offers a good discussion of the conflicts between the traditional and modern ways of
life in African societies.
Ifeoma Onyefulu, Ogbo: Sharing Life in an African Village. San Diego: Gulliver
Books, 1996. A simple but effective account of how the age grades function in a
traditional Ibo village.
Dympna Ugwu−Oju, What Will My Mother Say?: A Tribal African Girl Comes of Age
in America. Chicago: Bonus Books, 1996. Gives a vivid and fascinating account of an
Ibo woman struggling to face the challenges of living in a changing Ibo world.
Works Consulted
Haleh Afshar, ed., Women, State, and Ideology: Studies from Africa and Asia. Albany:
State University of New York Press, 1987. Essays that describe the political and
economic status of women in Africa and Asia.
Arthur S. Banks et al., eds., Political Handbook of the World 1995−1996.
Binghamton, NY: CSA Publications, 1996. Provides useful statistics.
For Further Reading 91
William R. Bascom and Melville J. Herskovits, eds., Continuity and Change in
African Cultures. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1959. Contains several essays
on how African peoples have responded to the changes brought about by colonization.
G. T. Basden, Niger Ibos. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1966. An account of the
author's thirty−five−year experience living among the Ibos.
Sonia Bleeker, The Ibo of Biafra. New York: William Morrow, 1969. An
easy−to−read overview of life in a traditional Ibo village.
Michael Crowder, The Story of Nigeria. London: Faber & Faber, 1962. After studying
in Britain, Michael Crowder was the first freed slave to return to Nigeria. He became
archbishop of the Niger Diocese. This book details his perception of life in Iboland
before and after the British invasion and colonial rule.
Felix K. Ekechi, Tradition and Transformation in Eastern Nigeria. Kent, OH: Kent
State University Press, 1989. An overview of the changes present−day Ibo society has
undergone because of colonialism.
Barbara Entwisle and Catherine M. Coles, "Demographic Surveys of Nigerian
Women," Signs, vol. 15, Winter 1990, pp. 259−61. Gives a useful overview of the
different aspects of women's life in modern Nigeria.
Nkoli N. Ezumah and Catherine M. Di Domenico, "Enhancing the Role of Women in
Crop Production: A Case Study of Igbo Women in Nigeria," World Development, vol.
23, 1995, pp. 1731−44. Gives a good description of the economic lives of
contemporary Ibo women.
Barry Floyd, Eastern Nigeria. New York: Praeger, 1969. Focuses on describing the
geography of Iboland and its impact on the lives of the people.
For Further Reading 92
Daryll Forde, Peoples of the Niger−Benue Confluence. London: International African
Institute, 1955. Anthropological accounts of the Ibos in the traditional society.
Daryll Forde and G. I. Jones, The Ibo and Ibibio−Speaking Peoples of South−Eastern
Nigeria. London: International African Institute, 1967. Anthropological description of
the customs and rituals of traditional Ibo society.
Brenda−Lu Forman and Harrison Forman, The Land and People of Nigeria. New
York: J. B. Lippincott, 1964. Offers a dated but good comparison of the lives of Ibo
women with those of women in other ethnic groups in Nigeria.
Margaret Green, Ibo Village Affairs. New York: Praeger, 1964. Offers an experiential
account of the lives of Ibo women after the Women's War.
Nancy J. Hafkin and Edna G. Bay, eds., Women in Africa . Stanford, CA: Stanford
University Press, 1976. Contains several essays on different aspects of the lives of
African women.
Jack Harris, "The Position of Women in a Nigerian Society," Transactions of the New
York Academy of Sciences, vol. 1, January 1940, pp. 141−48. Describes the author's
experiences during his field research in Iboland.
Richard N. Henderson, The King in Every Man. New Haven, CT: Yale University
Press, 1972. Good description of how the women's political organizations functioned
in traditional Ibo society.
Elizabeth Isichei, A History of the Igbo People. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1976. A
detailed history of the Ibos and what happened after their contact with the Western
world.
Sylvia Leith−Ross, African Women: A Study of the Ibo of Nigeria. New York: Praeger,
1965. An experiential account of the lives of Ibo women after the Women's War of
For Further Reading 93
1929.
Peter C. Lloyd, Africa in Social Change. New York: Praeger, 1968. A detailed
exploration of some of the changes that have taken place in African societies since the
colonial rule.
Robin McKown, The Colonial Conquest of Africa. New York: Franklin Watts, 1971.
A good introduction on the topic of how and why Europe colonized Africa and the
aftermath of the colonial experience.
Helen Chapin Metz, ed., Nigeria: A Country Study. Washington, DC: Federal
Research Division, 1992. General overview of life in Nigeria.
Nigeria Federal Office of Statistics (Lagos, Nigeria) . Annual Abstract of Statistics.
Bethesda, MD: 1991. Provides useful statistics.
Thomas W. Northcote, Anthropological Report on the Ibo−Speaking Peoples of
Nigeria. Parts 1 and 4. New York: Negro University Press, 1969. Good description of
life in traditional Ibo society.
Philip O. Nsugbe, Ohaffia: A Matrilineal Ibo People. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1974.
Good description of the lives of women in the Ohaffia society, where the mode of
inheritance is matrilineal.
Martha Nussbaum and Jonathan Clover, eds., Women, Culture, and Development: A
Study of Human Capabilities . Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995. Provides detailed
analysis of the economic and political development of women in third world countries.
T. Uzodinma Nwala, Igbo Philosophy . Ikeja, Lagos: Litermed Publications, 1985.
Discusses traditional Ibo beliefs and attitudes.
For Further Reading 94
Ikenna Nzimiro, Studies in Ibo Political Systems. Berkeley and Los Angeles:
University of California Press, 1972. Good description of the political and social roles
of women in traditional Ibo society.
Denise Paulme, ed., Women of Tropical Africa. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University
of California Press, 1974. Contains several essays on different aspects of the lives of
African women.
Victor C. Uchendu, The Igbo of Southeast Nigeria. New York: Holt, Rinehart &
Winston, 1965. A general description of life in Iboland just before its independence
from British rule in 1960.
Judith Van Allen, "'Sitting on a Man': Colonialism and the Lost Political Institutions
of Ibo Women," Canadian Journal of African Studies, vol. 6, 1971. Provides analysis
of women's political conditions in precolonial Ibo society. Also gives a good account
of the Ibo Women's War.
Derry Yakubu, African Cultural Heritage. East Lansing : Michigan State University,
1980. An easy−to−read description of the major ethnic groups in Africa and their
heritage.
For Further Reading 95